Want China Times
Date: 2015-10-03
By: CNA
Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture said Friday that it will insist that the country maintain a
Pork rice made with American pork. (File photo/Yao Shun)
ban on pork imported from the United States containing traces of leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine, amid fears that the issue could affect future bilateral trade talks.
Taiwan and the US held trade discussions under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on Thursday, and while the issue of US pork imports was not on the agenda, Washington has hinted that it would make signing a bilateral investment agreement more difficult.
The US suspended TIFA talks from 2007 to 2012 because of Taiwan’s refusal to import beef containing traces of ractopamine. They were restarted after Taiwan agreed to lift the ban, but local authorities are much less likely to give in on pork imports.
COA chief Chen Bao-ji said imports of US beef and pork must be considered separately, especially considering that no nations that consume more than 30 kilograms of pork per person per year have allowed ractopamine-laced park to enter their markets. [FULL STORY]
