The FDA is moving forward with plans to require US and foreign companies that produce, process, pack or store food for export to register with the administration by December 12 this year.

Such companies would also have to notify the FDA by noon the day before a shipment of food arrives at a US port of entry, under the proposal.

The proposed rule would apply to food for human or animal consumption.

An unnamed official from the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Food, Native Produce and Animals said: "The proposal will create new non-tariff barriers to global food exports to the United States, which runs against the free-trade principle of the World Trade Organization."

The FDA is consulting with related food organizations and exporters both in the United States and abroad on the proposal, the Chinese official said.

He said the chamber is preparing a paper on the proposed regulation following discussions with its members. The paper is expected to be filed at the FDA by Friday.

The proposed requirements that firms inform the FDA in advance of shipments due will enable the FDA to conduct targeted inspections to help ensure the safety of imported food products.

Food imported without adequate prior notice will be refused admission and held at the port of entry.

The chamber official said: "This requirement will increase food exporters' costs and may lengthen their delivery times."

The proposal is expected to get final approval this autumn.

The same shipment will then need to fulfil two or even multiple separate sets of requirements for the FDA and US customs authorities, the Chinese official said.

The rule would have an adverse effect on numerous food-export companies, he predicted.

According to chamber statistics, China has more than 3,000 food exporters and they exported food with a total value of US$1.4 billion last year.

"But a larger number of companies and greater value will be involved, since the effects of the proposed regulation go beyond merely exporters," the official said.

The FDA said the proposed regulation will be important in enabling it to protect the US food supply against terrorism and other threats to public health.

In a separate development, a panel from the Geneva-based World Trade Organization issued a preliminary ruling last Wednesday that stiff tariffs imposed a year ago to protect the US steel industry violate global trade rules.

Last spring, the Bush administration imposed tariffs of nearly 30 per cent on most types of steel imported into the United States from Europe, Asia and South America.

The move was widely criticized as an unjustified and highly projectionist measure.

Administration officials said the United States will appeal, delaying a decision probably until September. That would mean that the current tariffs could remain in effect until at least that time.

(China Daily April 2, 2003)