020412 Russia Lifts Ban On Imports of U.S. Poultry

Moscow - Russia and the United States signed an agreement on the lifting of a ban on imported U.S. poultry, resolving a dispute that had clouded economic relations, the U.S. ambassador said Sunday.

Russia imposed the ban earlier this month, citing concerns about sanitary conditions in U.S. plants and the use of antibiotics and feed additives in American chickens. U.S. officials said the ban was not justified scientifically and accused Moscow of protectionism.

U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said he and Russia's chief veterinary inspector Mikhail Kravchuk signed a protocol on the ban, and it would be lifted before April 10, after the United States meets requirements set by Russia.

Vershbow told a news conference that the issue of poultry imports had become the number one problem in U.S.-Russian relations over the past month. Chicken is the top American export to Russia, bringing in dlrs 600 million to dlrs 700 million a year to producers in 38 U.S. states.

"This dispute has caused some harm to bilateral economic relations," Vershbow said. "That's undeniable."

The ban -- along with recent U.S. sanctions on foreign steel, a major Russian export -- had clouded relations ahead of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to Russia in May.

"With the visit of Bush two months away, there is a need to expand our cooperation, and it appears that this (poultry dispute) obstacle has been removed," Vershbow said.

He said there were two central issues in the dispute: discovery of salmonella in some imported poultry lots and discrepancies, including forgery, in veterinary documents.

The United States agreed to inform 14 American poultry producers whose products were found to contain salmonella that they would be temporarily excluded from the list of approved exporters.

It will also use veterinary certificate forms with security features against forgery.

Vershbow said that in the talks, there was no evidence that American poultry shipments deviated from a 1996 agreements on health standards, and "we have heard of no cases where any poultry products have caused any harm to the Russian consumer."

The Russian side agreed that when the United States fulfills the protocol requirements, the temporary ban on U.S. poultry will be lifted before April 10.

"When the ban is lifted, all other U.S. companies will be able to resume trade, and hopefully the other (14 excluded) plants will soon be reinstated," Vershbow said.

During the dispute, Russia used a very aggressive propaganda campaign about the safety of American food exports, a tactic which could complicate Russia's desire to join the World Trade Organization, Vershbow said.

"The handling of this dispute has been very much at variance with the kind of rules of the game that WTO members are expected to observe," the American ambassador said.

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