Beijing/Chicago | Reuters –– China’s major ports of entry have ramped up checks on fresh fruit imports from the U.S., five Chinese industry sources said, which could delay shipments from U.S. growers already dealing with higher tariffs as Sino-U.S. trade ties worsen.
Fruits were among 128 U.S. goods that China slapped with more expensive import tariffs in retaliation for U.S. levies on Chinese steel and aluminum as trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies flared this year.
A U.S. trade delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is in Beijing for talks with Chinese officials. The two sides are expected to discuss an array of U.S. complaints about China’s trade practices, from accusations of forced technology transfers to state subsidies for technology development.
Since last week, Beijing has dispatched quarantine experts to major ports including Shanghai and Shenzhen to make more thorough on-site checks for disease and rot, a source based in Shanghai with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
“China has resumed the practice of inspecting every batch of U.S. fresh fruit,” the source said, adding that inspectors had previously checked only around 30 percent of shipments. China had dialed back the checks in November 2017.
Since Monday, all U.S.-originated fruit shipments have been subject to up to seven days of quarantine check on arrival in Shenzhen, said an industry source based at the port in China’s south.
Previously, customs officers in China had let shipments through while they conducted sample checks.
Several containers of oranges imported by the source’s company from the U.S. have been intercepted this week, the Shenzhen industry source added.
China’s customs office could not be immediately reached for comment outside business hours.
