The European Commission has proposed opening 48 food European Union (EU) import quotas for Chinese and American products.


The move has been negotiated with Washington and Beijing because of the EU’s incorporation in 2004 of ten eastern and southern European countries. They had their own US and China market access deals before becoming member states, and these must be incorporated into rules for the whole EU.


Brussels is proposing new Chinese quotas for around 57,000 tonnes of rice, plus 20,500 tonnes of garlic, and for the US – 16,665 tonnes of poultry, along with smaller quotas for other food products from both countries.