USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue says this about our new “trade breakthrough” with China:
This is tremendous news for the American beef industry, the agriculture community, and the U.S. economy in general. We will once again have access to the enormous Chinese market, with a strong and growing middle class, which had been closed to our ranchers for a long, long time. .. When the Chinese people taste our high-quality U.S. beef, there’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll want more of it.”
Why “breakthrough”? China refused to buy US beef after a case of mad cow disease turned up.
The point of US trade policy is to have open markets for our products. USDA has a quick summary of our current balance of trade. We are doing pretty well with it.
And here’s why:
Hence: Selling beef to China should up those numbers.
This is to launch my new memoir: Slow Cooked: An Unexpected Life in Food Politics. This is a n NYU Fales Library event, in conversation with food consultant, Clark Wolf.
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[Note: book can be ordered at 30% off from www.ucpress.edu/9780520384156, using source code 21W2240 at checkout]