EPA application timelines, page-191

governmemt to government is different to small business to small business. you need a long runway of trust to work into the arrangements and if not trust a good legal system. the problem with china is 2 fold.
1. lots of distributors and onsellers pretending to be primary consumers.
2. if you are the little fish they can squeeze you pretty hard and do. lots of stories about deals gone bad and suppliers getting the raw end. i know of a few cases where the shipment arrives and "it's the wrong grade"... but they'll take it because they "value the partnership" but at discount... they then use the discounted price as the anchor to renegotiate once you've got a few million tones sea borne for the 2nd shipment.

moreover, reality is that dealing with more transparent nations gives you better legal cover and recourse as a little fish. not to mention ability to trust 3rd party labs and assessors. while 80% may have no issues dealing with china, its a mistake you only get to make once as those that fall into the 20% dont often recover.

i support steering clear if there are other options..