[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]South Africa ends trade bans on US poultry, pork and beef[/title][fusion_text]Friday, January 8th 2016
South Africa has agreed to end its trade bans on U.S. poultry, pork and beef after years of negotiation and a recent ultimatum from President Barack Obama, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Obama gave South Africa until New Year’s Eve to remove the multiyear bans it had put on U.S. poultry, beef and pork. If the country refused, Obama said the U.S. would revoke its agricultural benefits including duty-free exports under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Negotiations continued, however, and now, seven days later, South Africa has agreed to meet the president’s demands. Under the agreement, the U.S. may export as much as 65,000 metric tons of chicken to South Africa annually, with incremental increases in subsequent years. In the case of future avian influenza outbreaks in the U.S., South Africa must regionalize any trade bans on poultry imports to the U.S. states that are affected, as opposed to instituting blanket bans, as it has in the past. According to USTR, the agreement will allow South Africa to reserve a portion of its new trade in U.S. poultry for historically disadvantaged importers. The two groups and other chicken industry stakeholders worked with USTR and the South African government to finalize an agreement on U.S. poultry in June. The Paris agreement, as it was called, required South Africa to ease its bans on poultry – a policy South Africa says it enacted to protect its food supply from avian influenza, and more recently, salmonella – as well as its anti-dumping duties that were imposed on U.S. chicken in 2000. According to USDA, U.S. poultry, pork and beef exports to South Africa could generate $75 million of shipments annually.
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