Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have called for a study by the U.S. International Trade Commission of China's market for agricultural products. In a letter to ITC Chairman Shara Aranoff, the two senators request that the study cover the period from 2004 to 2009, and that that the report be submitted to them by March 1, 2011 .
Grassley said the requested report would lead to a better understanding of tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. agricultural products in China , with beef and pork producers standing to benefit from the elimination of those nonscientific trade barriers.
"Chinese government policies aimed at boosting domestic production and curbing imports, non-tariff measures, including sanitary/phytosanitary measures and technical trade barriers, and increased competition from third-country suppliers, especially those with which China has negotiated trade agreements, are important factors that could weaken the competitive position of U.S. agricultural products in the Chinese market," the letter says.
The senators also requested a quantitative analysis of the economic effects of China 's most-favored-nation tariffs, free trade agreement tariffs, and non-tariff barriers on U.S. imports and world imports. It also asked for a description of China 's agricultural market, including recent trends in production, consumption, and trade, and competitive factors affecting the agricultural sector in China .
