Ag Groups Urge Administration To Press China For Faster GMO Approvals

摘要

U.S. agricultural commodity groups are urging the Obama administration to press China's government for faster and more consistent consideration of new biotechnology crop applications at a December bilateral dialogue, and say that long Chinese delays have negatively impacted farmers in the United States. In a Nov. 1 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, the groups asked that the administration make biotech approvals a "top priority" on the agenda of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). The commission is slated to meet next month. "As you and your staff prepare for the JCCT meeting, we urge you to make clear to your Chinese counterparts the importance of positive action on the pending approvals," the agriculture groups said in the letter.