US meat exports at risk as China lets permits expire

BEIJING, March 17 (Reuters) - Export registrations for more than 1,000 U.S. meatpackers granted by China under the 2020 “Phase 1” trade deal expired on Sunday, China’s customs website showed, threatening U.S. exports to the world’s biggest buyer amid an ongoing tariff standoff.

The registration status of U.S. pork, beef and poultry plants, including some owned by major producers Tyson Foods (TSN.N), Smithfield Packaged Meats and Cargill Meat Solutions, has been changed from “effective” to “expired,” according to the website of China’s General Administration of Customs.

Reuters reported on Friday that those registrations were at risk of expiring.

The expiration of about two-thirds of the total registered facilities could restrict access to the U.S. market and lead to losses of approximately $15T5 billion, adding to the challenges faced by American farmers after Beijing imposed retaliatory tariffs on about $15T21 billion worth of American agricultural products this month.

Registrations for about 84 U.S. plants expired in February, and while shipments from those plants continue to pass through customs, it’s unclear how long China will allow imports. Beijing requires food exporters to register with customs to sell in China.

The US Department of Agriculture said China has failed to respond to repeated requests to renew plant registrations, potentially violating the Phase 1 trade deal.

Under the Phase 1 trade deal, China is required to update its list of approved plants within 20 days of receiving updates from the USDA.

China's customs department did not immediately respond to faxed questions from Reuters.

In 2024, the US was China's third largest meat supplier by volume, behind Brazil and Argentina, accounting for 590,000 tonnes or 9% of China's total meat imports.

U.S. meat shipments to China reached $1.5 billion last year, making it the second-largest exporter by value.

Losing access to China would be an especially hard blow to exporters of parts like chicken feet and pork offal, which are less consumed domestically.

Smithfield Foods (SFD.O) CEO Shane Smith said last week that the tariffs have made it harder for the largest U.S. pork processor to sell all parts of the pig.

Smithfield does not export large quantities of meat to China, but it does ship organ products such as pig stomachs, hearts and heads, Smith said.

Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Himani Sarkar