U.S., China Strike Trade Deal On Beef, Poultry And Natural Gas

China and the U.S. struck a trade deal that allows beef and natural gas exports to China. The agreement will allow U.S. companies to sell liquefied natural gas to China, which is likely to be controversial on the West coast. It was pretty much a Herculean accomplishment to get this done. This is more than has been done in the whole history of U.S.-China relations on trade. Under the agreement, China will open its market to U.S. beef importers by mid-July. Ross says American beef producers have been locked out of China's enormous market since a mad cow scare in 2003. For its part, the Trump administration will allow imports of cooked poultry from China. Ross says the Department of Agriculture believes this will not cause major harm to the U.S. poultry industry. The deal will also allow China easier access to the U.S. banking system and let American energy companies export LNG to China, most of which it currently buys from Russia.