A planned trip by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to China was postponed indefinitely due to the president's illness. Nonetheless, it did not stop a series of agreements on bilateral cooperation from being announced in recent weeks. These new agreements cover a number of areas, including

China's Customs agency announced that it would suspend beef imports from a U.S. company due to the detection of an illegal substance, an outstanding issue that the United States and China were supposed to work on under the Phase One Agreement.

On October 26, China’s General Administration of Customs issued a notice [http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302249/2480148/3969244/index.html] (link in Chinese) setting forth SPS requirements for imports of beef from Italy. The notice takes effect immediately. The notice sets forth details on SPS requirements for

On October 18, China’s General Administration of Customs issued a notice [http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302249/2480148/3960106/index.html] (link in Chinese) that would allow imports of beef from Russia if certain requirements are met. It is an implementation of the Protocol on the Inspection, Quarantine

The Brazilian government is reportedly anxious about renewing its beef trade with China after a suspension of Brazilian exports due to cases of mad cow disease. It seems as though China is taking longer than expected to resolve the issue with its Brazilian counterparts. Brazil is a major source of

China’s Customs agency recently announced that it would suspend imports of some beef products from the United Kingdom and Mongolia, as well as some pork products from Haiti, due to sanitary concerns. All three documents were issued on September 29 and took effect immediately. According to one announcement [http: