Major exporters including the United States and Europe are putting pressure on China as it increases inspections of imports which they see as hampering their access to the market.
The group, which also includes Japan and Australia, sent a joint letter to Chinese regulators asking them to suspend a proposed requirement, due to take effect Oct. 1, for each food shipment to have an inspection certificate from a foreign government. They say that would disrupt trade and they've asked Beijing to follow global practice by applying the requirement only to higher-risk foods.
The dispute, about which governments have said little in public, adds to complaints that Beijing is reducing market access for goods, including farm-related biotech, in violation of its free-trade commitments.
The letter, dated June 12 and seen by The Associated Press, was sent by an unusually broad group including the 28-nation European Union, the United States, Japan, Australia, Argentina and Israel and four other countries. It is addressed to the director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, known as AQSIQ, and the Chinese commerce minister. A foreign official who asked not to be identified further, due to the sensitivity of the issue, confirmed the letter had been sent to Chinese regulators.
The letter says the rules would affect billions of dollars' worth of meat, fruit, dairy and other products and thousands of suppliers who look to China as a growing export market. Foreign suppliers complain Beijing already uses safety rules in ways that hamper access for beef and other goods in violation of its market-opening commitments.
