China renews export registrations for US pork, poultry plants, industry groups say

Beijing has renewed registrations that allow hundreds of US pork and poultry facilities to export to China, industry groups said on Monday, after lapses threatened shipments to the world's largest meat importer.

The renewals are a relief to US farmers and meat companies as they navigate trade disputes with major agricultural importers, including China and Canada, under President Donald Trump.

China is understood to have renewed for five years registrations for US pork and poultry facilities that expired in February and over the weekend, according to the US Meat Export Federation and the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council. Both groups said that US beef facilities had not yet been renewed.

Shipments continued to clear customs from facilities with lapsed registrations, but US exporters were unsure how long that would last.

"We were on pins and needles for a while," said Greg Tyler, CEO of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.

Beijing requires food exporters to register with customs to sell products in China.

China's customs website showedregistrations for more than 1,000 US meat plants granted by China under the 2020 "Phase 1" trade deal lapsed on Sunday. That was roughly two-thirds of all those registered.

The trade deal ended the previous US-China trade war with a pledge from Beijing to boost its purchases of US goods and services, including meat, by $200 billion over two years. China did not reach the target, which was agreed shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The US Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The agency previously said China did not respond to repeated requests to renew plant registrations, potentially violating the Phase 1 agreement.

"We're pleased to see progress on the pork facilities and hoping for similar news on beef as soon as possible," said Joe Schuele, spokesman for the US Meat Export Federation.

Beijing imposed retaliatory tariffs on some $21 billion worth of American farm goods this month, including 10% duties on US pork, beef and dairy.

In 2024, the US was China's third-largest meat supplier by volume, trailing Brazil and Argentina and accounting for 9 percent of China's total meat imports. US meat shipments to China reached $2.5 billion last year, making it the second largest exporter by value.

Exports of US poultry products have suffered due to outbreaks of bird flu, but China remains an important market, Tyler said.

"We needed that market to stay open and these renewals were very important to that," he said.