The U.S. Senate confirmed of Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad to be the U.S. Ambassador to China, a move which many in agriculture appreciated.
?As the six-term governor of a state with more than $10 billion in annual agricultural exports, Terry Branstad is an ideal person to help facilitate the U.S. beef industry?s return to the Chinese market for the first time in 13-plus years,? said Craig Uden, president of the National Cattlemen?s Beef Association. ?Ambassador Branstad has said that he intends to serve American-produced beef at the U.S. embassy in Beijing, and America?s cattle producers look forward to working with him to make that a reality as soon as possible.?
The announcement comes at a particularly important time for the U.S. cattle industry and trade with China. There is just one more round of technical consultations for the U.S. agreement with China on access to Chinese beef markets with a July 16 deadline before U.S. beef is allowed in the country after being locked out for 13 years.
