Tester to Trump: Put Montana Beef Back on the Menu in China

Tester Highlights ‘Critical Step’ to Protect Jobs in Rural America Ahead of President’s Meeting

(U.S. Senate) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester today asked President Trump to prioritize Montana’s access to China’s beef market during the President’s upcoming visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Tester, a farmer who also ran a custom butcher shop before his time in the Senate, worked to get China to lift its ban on American beef. Now, he is calling on President Trump to negotiate a bilateral trade deal to open up China’s market for Montana producers.

“American producers raise the best and most demanded beef products in the world,” Tester wrote. “Opening access to new beef markets, especially markets the size of China, is a critical step toward protecting and growing jobs in rural America.”

Tester, a longtime champion for Montana ranchers and farmers, recently introduced legislation to ban Brazilian beef for 120 days following news that Brazilian meatpackers have been exporting rotten beef and trying to cover it up with cancer-causing acid products.

“The United States should be unabashedly proud of our enduring commitment to producing and selling the safest and most reliable beef products in the global marketplace,” Tester wrote.

Tester’s letter to President Trump can be found HERE.