China has agreed to resume imports of Canadian beef and pork, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday, signaling a breakthrough in tense relations between the two nations.
“Good news for Canadian farmers today: Canadian pork and beef exports to China will resume,” Trudeau said on Twitter.
He lauded Canadian Ambassador to China Dominic Barton, who was appointed in September last year, and the country’s meat industry for working to reopen “this important market for our meat producers and their families.”
Photo: AFP
China had blocked beef and pork shipments from Canada in June last year, alleging contamination in pork shipments and bogus documents — claims disputed by Ottawa — amid an escalating diplomatic row.
It was not clear what exactly convinced Beijing to change tack.
However, meat producers said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency would start issuing export certificates immediately for shipments destined for China.
Canadian Minister of International Trade Diversification Jim Carr and Canadian Minister of Agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau said in a statement that the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the food inspection agency “engaged with China” on the beef and pork ban over the past few months.
“We will continue to work closely with beef and pork producers and processors in the coming days and weeks to ensure successful resumption of trade,” the pair said in the statement.
Prior to the ban, China was Canada’s third-largest market for beef and its fifth-largest for pork, according to government data.
In June, China had asked Canada to investigate what it said were false veterinary health certificates attached to a batch of pork, while Xinhua news agency said customs officials in Nanjing had found ractopamine in pork shipments.
The feed additive, which boosts the growth of animals, is widely used in the US, but banned in the EU and China.
The forgery allegations — which federal police were called in to investigate — came after relations between the two nations were strained by Canada’s arrest of a senior Chinese telecoms executive and China’s detention of two Canadian nationals in apparent retaliation.
Although no official link was made, the pork ban was seen as an escalation in response to Canada’s arrest in December last year of Huawei Technologies Co (華為) chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟) on a US extradition request related to alleged Iran sanctions violations.
Cattle farmers at the time were said to have been puzzled why they were included in the ban.
From the start, Canada has treated the matter as a “technical issue,” focusing on proving to Chinese authorities that its meat was safe.
Carr in June also suggested in regards to the forgeries that someone might have illicitly used “the Canadian brand to move product into the Chinese market.”
Chinese concerns about supply shortages for local consumers — after an African swine fever outbreak reduced its domestic herd by millions — might also have been a factor in the decision to end the ban.
“Our long-standing trade relationship with China is very important to both sides and this represents an important step for both countries,” Canadian Meat Council president Chris White said.
He said the decision came on the eve of an industry-led mission to China to work through any lingering customs and shipping issues.
Meng’s extradition hearing is set to start in January.
Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian businessman Michael Spavor remain in Chinese custody, accused of espionage — which Ottawa refutes.
Beijing continues to block Canadian canola sales worth billions.
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