Trump Convinces China to Grant Market Access to US Beef - NCBA Hails It a Major Victory

Word came at the beginning of this week, that a victory was won for US beef producers during President Donald Trump’s Summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. China announced just a few days ago after Xi’s return home that the Chinese government has agreed to move forward with opening access back up to their markets for US beef, which were shut tight in 2003 after a brief episode concerning mad cow disease. Kent Bacus, director of international trade and market access for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association spoke with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays about this new signal of hope to America’s beef industry.

 

“President Trump, he listened to the requests, not only from NCBA, but from the North American Meat Institute and the US Meat Export Federation - and we asked him to make this a priority issue,” Bacus said. “So, when you think about all of the requests coming into the White House for issues to be discussed, we consider this a victory, that beef was included as a priority issue.”

 

 

While this news has been well received, Bacus acknowledges that there is still a lot of discussion that needs to take place, hammering out the technical barriers of a trade agreement, such as traceability. These discussions have been going on for months now, since China first hinted at opening up their doors again, but they have since seemed to stagnate. However, backing from Xi may help to speed up the process.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.