U.S. Beef and Beef Products Gain Greater Access to Chilean Market

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March 24, 2011

On March 23, 2011 United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that United States producers are now eligible to ship a larger array of U.S. beef products to Chile. This development follows months of meetings between Chilean government officials and officials from the USTR and USDA. It also closely follows a meeting between President Obama and Chilean President Pinera earlier this month in which they discussed science-based trade rules for agricultural products and increasing U.S. exports to Latin America. In 2010 the United States exported approximately $6.2 million in beef and beef products to Chile.

 

The USTR and USDA have been working to regain U.S. access to worldwide beef markets since the bovine spongiform encephalopathy scare in 2003. Japan has received particular focus lately, including members of Congress voicing reservations about Japan joining Trade Pacific Partnership Agreement talks while retaining significant barriers to U.S. beef products. On March 8, 2011 twenty-seven Senators, including Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), sent a letter to President Obama urging pressure on Japan to loosen its restrictions on U.S. beef imports. Prior to the 2003 scare, Japan was the world’s largest market for U.S. beef exports.