Moscow has banned pork from all but six US processing plants because of a dispute over standards for antibiotic residues and has threatened to stop accepting US chicken after December 31 because of concerns about chlorine rinses.
Washington has said Russia's concerns are unwarranted and go far beyond international scientific standards used by members of the World Trade Organization.
Russia does not belong to the WTO, so is not bound by the standards. Some say the situation illustrates why the United States should help Russia complete the drawn-out process of accession.
Others grumble the perennial meat trade spats prove Russia is not serious about becoming a WTO member.
Last year, Russia bought US$801 million worth of US chicken, making it the No. 1 export market, and US$476 million of US pork, putting it in the top five. But trade tensions have flared regularly between the two nations since the United States began shipping large volumes of chicken and pork into Russia more than a decade ago.
Russian and American industry and technical officials have been discussing how to square differing standards since May, but have not come to definitive agreements.
Russia gave ample warning to the United States about a December 1 deadline for pork export certificates, said Sergei Yushin, head of the National Meat Association.
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