South Alabama Times

Washington, D.C. — Last week, Rep. Barry Moore (AL-02), Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA-07) and 41 Members of Congress, including House Agriculture Committee Chairman Thompson, led a letter to Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack and U.S. Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai urging the General Administration of Customs China (GACC) to engage with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and to honor their 2020 trade agreement by restoring market access to states who followed agreed upon Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza protocols. These affected states include 158 poultry processing and cold storage facilities and represent 43 percent of boiler production in the United States.

"Poultry producers are under pressure not only to protect animal health but market health, too. American producers bet on reliable trading partners and China is not holding up their end of the deal,” said Moore. “I urge Secretary Vilsack and Ambassador Tai to engage with their Chinese counterparts and encourage them to honor the 2020 agreement and restore American market access."

"Trade is one of our most valuable tools to stimulate the economy, and China’s disregard for existing regionalization protocols is negatively impacting our poultry industry," said Thompson. Our nation’s growers follow long-standing guidelines to ensure the health and safety of poultry products. The Biden Administration must engage with the GACC to uphold our trade agreements and reopen this critical export market for U.S. poultry." – Glenn “GT” Thompson, Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture

Original source can be found here.