China chicken ban may prompt response

WASHINGTON, July 12 (UPI) -- More than 50 business groups say if the U.S. Congress supports a ban on imported cooked chicken from China, there could be a devastating response.

The business alliance, which includes the American Farm Bureau Federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, warns the current import ban may eventually prompt China to counter with its own ban on imported U.S. farm products, The Hill reported Saturday.

"At a time when U.S. producers are seeking to sell their goods and services abroad during a difficult global economic crisis, it is vital we uphold our trade obligations, lest we find access to vital overseas markets cut off to American products," the groups said in a statement.

The Food and Safety Inspection Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been actively seeking the resumption of cooked chicken products being imported from China.

But the service's attempts to implement a rule allowing such imports were blocked Thursday when the U.S. House of Representatives approved an agriculture appropriations bill, The Hill reported.