Prohibit Russian companies from buying American poultry products

Introduction: just five days before the summit between Russia and the United States, the mayor of Moscow, Russian Federation, Luzhkov announced a ban on the purchase of imported American poultry products by local agricultural companies According to the public opinion, the introduction of this measure is likely to revive the flames of the "poultry trade war" between the two countries, which has just subsided for two months Luzhkov announced the decision at a Regional Conference on industrial and agricultural development that day He said he was concerned that Russia "cannot be independent on food issues." The current situation that the Russian market is full of a large number of foreign foods stems from the 1990s During the former President Bush administration, a large number of cheap American drumsticks flooded into the Russian market, causing a huge impact on Russian agriculture Now, U.S poultry sales to Russia reach $600 million to $800 million a year, accounting for 40% of all poultry exports In response, Luzhkov said, "it is entirely possible for us to fill the gap in poultry production in the United States through local production." He pointed out that foreign food currently accounts for 30% and 40% of the retail and wholesale markets in Moscow, while local poultry production in Moscow has tripled in the past two years In addition, Luzhkov once again mentioned Russia's concerns about the health status of agricultural products in the United States "Our health, and our chickens, can be dangerous," he said Earlier this year, Russia said that U.S farmers used growth hormones such as antibiotics in raising poultry and found Salmonella in imported products on cargo ships carrying U.S poultry On March 10, the Russian government issued a law banning the import of American poultry products for fear of food poisoning But most analysts think Russia's approach is retaliation for the US decision to impose high tariffs on imported steel In March this year, the United States unilaterally declared to impose tariffs of up to 30% on most imported steel products in the next three years, regardless of the vital interests of its trading partners and the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), so as to protect its sluggish steel industry This practice of the United States was immediately strongly protested by major steel trading partners, and Russia responded quickly The "poultry trade war" was filled with smoke Although Russia partially lifted the import ban shortly afterwards, it still banned poultry imports from four U.S states with influenza viruses and "banned" 14 U.S poultry companies with poor health records To that end, U.S trade negotiators complained that U.S poultry sales to Russia fell by 20 to 25 percent Leaders of both countries have recently come forward to comment on the "poultry trade war" Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that he did not believe there was a "war" between the two countries over chicken U.S Secretary of State Powell said recently that after the U.S and Russia reached a nuclear weapons reduction agreement, he was more concerned about "chicken imports than about Russian missiles.".