Hong Kong has lifted trade restrictions on U.S. beef. Under a new agreement Hong Kong will allow imports of the full range of beef and beef products from the U.S. in line with pre-December 2003 access. The new agreement will expand opportunities for the U.S. beef industry. Previously – only de-boned beef from all cattle and certain bone-in beef from cattle less than 30 months old could be shipped to Hong Kong after a cow in the U.S. was found to be positive for BSE. Hong Kong is already the fourth largest market for U.S. beef and beef products with shipments there in 2013 reaching a record value of $823 million. Earlier this year Mexico, Ecuador, Uruguay, and Sri Lanka all lifted restrictions on U.S. beef imports after the World Organization for Animal Health assigned the U.S. negligible risk status for BSE.
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