Proposed Taiwan-US trade deal would bring about benefits to Taiwan’s economy, but negotiations are problematized by Taiwan’s ban on US pork imports
Taiwan News
Date: 2018/11/18
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – After Taiwan’s envoy to APEC Morris Chang (張忠謀) raised
Morris Chang, left, with Mike Pence. (Image from Taiwan’s MOFA)
the idea of a free trade agreement with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Nov. 17, two academics told CNA a potential deal faces a significant obstacle in terms of restrictions on pork imports.
Liu Meng-chun (劉孟俊), head of the First Research Division at the Taipei-based Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research said that a prospective trade deal would bring about benefits to Taiwan’s economy, opening of Taiwan’s service industry, as well as pave the way for U.S. pork imports.
Pork imports are a sensitive subject for the Taiwanese government, with food safety and the economic wellbeing of Taiwanese pork farmers significant concerns for the government and public alike. Liu suggested the pork issue is an important factor in potential trade negotiations.
Liu went on to say that if Taiwan and the U.S. were to ink a trade deal, it would certainly be protested by China, but in the context of the U.S.-China trade war, China’s discontent may have reduced influence on U.S. decision making.
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