Official: China, US agreed to resist protectionism in farming

US Secretary of Agriculture Ed Shafer told reporters that the US and China have agreed to resist protectionist backlash during the current economic crisis, AP reported. Such an agreement could facilitate negotiations in the Doha round, a seven-year effort to reduce trade barriers led by the WTO, though Shafer did not offer any specifics. The Doha round has seen little movement since July after proposals to reduce farm subsidies in exchange for tariff reductions made by the US and the EU were rejected by developing countries such as India and Brazil. Sales of US farm and processed foods are doing well in China. In 2007, the US exported US$9.4 billion in food products to China and imported US$9 billion-worth of Chinese-made food products.