The Department of Health yesterday demanded that all cattle-sourced cosmetic products imported from the US be taken from stores within two months, a move that could deal a blow to the local cosmetic sector.
Anyone who violates the order would be fined up to NT$100,000 (US$2,940), said Yu Wan-neng (
Industrialists said some NT$4 billion (US$117.6 million) worth of cosmetic products, or a 10th of imported cosmetics, could be affected.
The US accounted for about 14,000 tonnes, or US$55 million worth, of beef imports last year, Taiwan's third largest supplier nation.
The council said it did not expect the suspension to affect beef and lamb supplies as Taiwan would increase imports from Australia and New Zealand, its two largest suppliers.
The news came after the nation decided to remove the US from its list of mad-cow-disease-free countries, banning US beef imports for at least seven years.
The Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture took the step Monday night after the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health confirmed the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy -- mad-cow disease -- in the US.
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