Agribusiness Update for Monday 12/24/13

As a meeting of the annual U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade came to an end - China promised to ease restrictions on imports of U.S. beef. The two sides agreed to promote U.S. beef exports to China. No additional details were offered. Deputy Agriculture Minister Niu Dun said the two sides will work on technical issues - but didn't provide a timetable for when full-scale imports might be allowed.

The U.S. may have fresh Brazilian beef added to the menu. USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to amend its regulations to allow some fresh beef imports from specific Brazilian states. The proposal allows chilled or frozen beef to be imported. USDA claims with the proposal the U.S. is still protected from an introduction of foot-and-mouth disease.

The third round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations between the U.S. and the EU took place this past week in Washington, D.C. Negotiators are hoping to find enough common ground to move beyond conceptual discussion on new rules and start laying down proposals for discussion and negotiation in early 2014.

That's today's Agribusiness Update from the Ag Information Network.