Under a TRQ, a specific quantity of a farm product can enter at a low tariff rate and a higher tariff is applied to subsequent amounts.

Many traders, who have been importing soybeans at the low 3 per cent duties for years, were unaware of the TRQ in China.

Phil Laney, China country director of the American Soybean Association in Beijing, called the TRQ a "system in waiting" since it was written into Chinese customs regulations in 1996, but has never been applied.

Ironically, China set the TRQ framework in preparation for joining the WTO, which allows member countries to establish TRQs as a transition from traditional import quotas, he said.

Laney said that because the TRQs are complicated to operate and difficult to monitor, China should skip the step and keep marketaccess open for all soybeans.

"The US position is that there is no reason to put a TRQ on soybean imports," he said.

Peter Scher, the US negotiator for agricultural trade, told Reuters in Washington on Wednesday the United States was strongly opposed to China's desire to establish TRQ on soybean imports.

Scher had said earlier the United States could not accept a situation in which the WTO agreement provided it with worse access than it had now.

Chinese grain sources said that until now, TRQ discussions had focused on setting the quantities for wheat, rice, corn, and barley, although soyoil was also touched on.

Soyoil imports are regulated by a strict quota system, which is separate from the TRQ.

"China wants to become a member of WTO so that it can play by the same rules as for all members," an official at a state grain firm said.

If the WTO allows countries to establish TRQs, China had no reason to forfeit the right before it even became a member, he said.

Foreign grain traders said theyhoped the TRQ on soybeans would be calculated liberally to allow for current imports and margins for future growth.

The quota would be set high if based on the average imports over recent years of booming soybean trade, which some Chinese agricultural officials were likely to oppose, said one.

On the other hand, foreign exporters would protest vigorously if soyoil TRQs were calculated on customs data, which did not include smuggled oil and thus failed to reflect true demand, he said.

"We wonder if Chinese officials had a TRQ figure when they went into marathon sessions with the US side," the trader said.