OPEN DOORS:Joining a US free-trade agreement proposed for the trans-Pacific region would require Taiwan to make concessions and convince other nations to let it join: AIT
Taipei Times
Date: Apr 29, 2016
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Kin Moy yesterday said that the
decision to open the Taiwanese market and allow the import of US pork containing ractopamine residue should be made by the nation’s leaders in consultation with the public, but added that adjustments are necessary to build trade ties with the international community.
Moy made the remarks at a question-and-answer session after he gave a speech, titled “US-Taiwan Relations: Our Shared Future,” at the National Chengchi University, the first time he had visited a university in Taipei to interact with students.
The speech came at a time of growing public discontent over president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) reported plan to open the nation to US pork containing ractopamine residue, an additive that enhances leanness, which has been regarded as a major hurdle to Taiwan’s bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
“There has been a lot of media attention on this issue, but our position has not really changed at all. You have to put this into a larger context: overall trade,” Moy said in response to a student’s question regarding his opinion on the import of ractopamine-laced US pork. [FULL STORY]