Washington, D.C. - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today hailed the agreement between the United States and China on several key trade issues, most notably the return of American beef to the Chinese market after a hiatus that began in 2004.

Secretary Perdue issued the following statement:

"This is tremendous news for the American beef industry, the agriculture community, and the U.S. economy in general. We will once again have access to the enormous Chinese market, with a strong and growing middle class, which had been closed to our ranchers for a long, long time. I commend the persistence of President Trump, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, the U.S. Trade Representative's officials, and our own USDA professionals. I also thank our Chinese counterparts, who worked so hard to get this agreement into place. When the Chinese people taste our high-quality U.S. beef, there's no doubt in my mind that they'll want more of it."