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U.S. Biotech Crops Alliance letter to the White House on agriculture innovation and trade issues

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The U.S. Biotech Crops Alliance greatly appreciates your efforts to elevate the U.S.- China dialogue on agricultural innovation. Your engagement with President Xi Jinping at the 2014 APEC Summit established a strong foundation on which to build a robust, mutually beneficial, long-term dialogue on cooperation as it relates to agricultural innovation, including global food security, climate unpredictability and rural economic growth. In this regard, we ask that practical, trade facilitating measures to ensure increased Chinese access to the products of U.S. agriculture be a priority for your upcoming meeting with President Xi.</p>
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Dear Mr. President:

The U.S. Biotech Crops Alliance greatly appreciates your efforts to elevate the U.S.- China dialogue on agricultural innovation. Your engagement with President Xi Jinping at the 2014 APEC Summit established a strong foundation on which to build a robust, mutually beneficial, long-term dialogue on cooperation as it relates to agricultural innovation, including global food security, climate unpredictability and rural economic growth. In this regard, we ask that practical, trade facilitating measures to ensure increased Chinese access to the products of U.S. agriculture be a priority for your upcoming meeting with President Xi.

We are concerned that, since your last meeting with President Xi, much of the good will and cooperation about solving common food, environmental and economic policy goals have eroded or even reversed course. Despite some progress in 2014, including China’s approval of three biotechnology-derived crops, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has since delayed action on a growing queue of other crops, proposed new regulations, and adopted regulatory requirements that will add an additional year of field trials in some cases. These actions run counter to our nations’ commitment to intensify science-based agricultural innovation and undermine our ability to bring new tools to market to manage insects, weeds, and drought, and they leave China more vulnerable to supply shocks.

Read the USBCA's Letter to President Obama in its Entirety