Coronavirus: China ‘fully expected’ to meet trade deal terms despite Covid-19 outbreak, top US officials say

US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signed a letter praising China’s progress on trade deal

Statement did not mention coronavirus outbreak but said China ‘fully expected’ to meet terms of phase one deal

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Soybeans are expected to form a large portion of China’s US agriculture imports, as part of the phase one trade deal signed on January 15. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:27am, 26 Feb 2020Updated: 9:44pm, 26 Feb 2020

China is taking numerous steps to meet the agricultural commitments made in the phase one trade deal with the United States, according to a statement signed by two top US officials.

The note from US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, released on Tuesday in Washington, comes amid rising questions about whether the rampant economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus outbreak will sharply reduce China’s ability to stick to the terms of the deal.

Without mentioning the virus, which has infected more than 80,000 and killed more than 2,700 people worldwide, Perdue said that he was “encouraged by progress made last week” in meeting the agriculture purchase commitments in the deal and that “we fully expect compliance with all elements of the deal”.

The measures taken by China to meet the terms of the deal include a loosening of import restrictions on American potatoes and pet food products, an end to a ban on US poultry products, and a broadening in the lists of facilities from which the US may export animal proteins, pet food, dairy and infant formula to China, according to the letter.

President [Donald] Trump signed the phase one agreement a little more than a month ago and we are already seeing positive results

Robert Lighthizer

It also highlights China’s approval of a wide list of seafood products for import and its licensing of various feed additives for import.

While it was not mentioned in the statement, posted to the US Department of Agriculture’s website, China also moved to expand American access to its beef market this week. On Monday, China’s customs office said it had conditionally lifted a ban on beef products that come from American cows older than 30 months.

All of these measures should, theoretically, allow the US to sell more food products to China, but with the coronavirus epidemic placing huge swathes of the world’s second largest economy on lockdown, it is unsure how much demand China will have for such products over the coming months.