U.S. Upset by Russian Poultry Ban

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, March 06, 2002

U.S. Upset by Russian Poultry Ban

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The U.S. ambassador to Moscow sharply criticized an imminent Russian ban on American poultry Tuesday, saying it would gravely jeopardize broader economic ties and could set an unpleasant tone for President Bush's spring summit with Vladimir Putin in Russia.

The Russian Agriculture Ministry announced last week that it had stopped issuing import permits for U.S. chicken and other poultry, and would impose a full ban on Sunday. The U.S. poultry industry employs people in 38 states, and half of all poultry exports go to Russia.

"The stakes in this issue are much bigger than just the poultry trade, though that's pretty big, too," U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said at a news conference. He called the threatened ban "unacceptable."

Russian Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev said Tuesday that the ban was based on "concrete grievances about production quality," the Interfax news agency reported.

Agriculture officials say American poultry exporters violated Russian regulations by failing to provide proof of the Russian veterinary department's approval for import, improperly labeling packages and supplying meat from enterprises that did not check for salmonella a situation U.S. officials called impossible.

Interfax reported Tuesday that Russian inspectors recently found salmonella in U.S. poultry. But U.S. officials say salmonella is a common contaminant found on the surface of many foods and questioned how the Russian tests were conducted.

Russian agriculture officials have also expressed concern about what they say is the use of antibiotics and artificial feed additives in U.S. chicken production, and the use of chlorine to protect carcasses against bacteria.

U.S. officials said they did their best to respond to Russian concerns, answering 14 complex questions about U.S. production and inspection practices. The Russians sent the questions in mid-January and asked for the answers by Friday a deadline U.S. officials said was met.

The ban was announced Friday, and Russian agricultural authorities have refused face-to-face meetings.

Russia's poultry industry, crippled by years of economic decline and mismanagement, is struggling to compete against importers.

Russian media have drawn a connection between the poultry ban and long-threatened U.S. tariffs on steel, a major Russian export. Bush imposed tariffs of 8 percent to 30 percent on several types of imported steel Tuesday.

The ban could hamper efforts to end congressionally mandated trade restrictions against Russia, another U.S. official in Moscow said on condition of anonymity. It could also cool American efforts to help Russia gain admission to the World Trade Organization, the official said.

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