By Mei Mei Chu
BEIJING (Reuters) -Export registrations for more than 1,000 U.S. meat plants granted by China under the 2020 “Phase 1” trade deal lapsed on Sunday, China’s customs website showed, threatening U.S. exports to the world’s largest buyer amid an ongoing tariff standoff.
The registration status for pork, beef and poultry plants across the U.S., including some owned by major producers Tyson Foods, Smithfield Packaged Meats and Cargill Meat Solutions, was changed from “effective” to “expired”, according to the website of China’s General Administration of Customs.
Reuters reported on Friday that these registrations were at risk of lapsing.
The expiration of roughly two-thirds of the total registered facilities could restrict U.S. market access and lead to losses of roughly $5 billion, adding to the challenges faced by American farmers after Beijing imposed retaliatory tariffs on some $21 billion worth of American farm goods this month.
Registrations for around 84 U.S. plants lapsed in February and while shipments from these plants continue to clear customs, it is uncertain how long China will allow imports. Beijing requires food exporters to register with customs to sell in China.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said China did not respond to repeated requests to renew plant registrations, potentially violating the Phase 1 trade agreement.
Under the Phase 1 trade deal, China is obligated to update its approved plant list within 20 days of receiving updates from the USDA.
China’s customs department did not immediately respond to faxed questions from Reuters.
In 2024, the U.S. was China’s third-largest meat supplier by volume, trailing Brazil and Argentina, accounting for 590,000 tons or 9% of China’s total meat imports.
U.S meat shipments to China reached $2.5 billion last year, making it the second largest exporter by value.
Loss of access to China would be an especially hard blow for exporters of parts like chicken feet and pork offal, which are consumed less domestically.
Smithfield Foods CEO Shane Smith last week said tariffs had made it tougher for the biggest U.S. pork processor to sell all parts of a pig.
Smithfield does not export material amounts of meat to China, but ships offal products, such as pig stomachs, hearts and heads, Smith said.
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Himani Sarkar)
