Food safety and the rights of farmers will be major considerations for Taiwan taking part in international trade deals, the government said in response to a US report that urged Taipei to fully open its market to US beef and pork.
The National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, issued on Friday by the US Trade Representative’s Office, said the US would continue to urge Taiwan to open its market fully to US beef and pork based on science, World Organization for Animal Health guidelines and the US’ negligible risk status.
The report said Taiwan has yet to implement a maximum residue limit for ractopamine in beef offal and pork despite notifying the WTO in 2007 of its intent to do so.
The US would continue to urge Taiwan to implement the remaining proposed residue limits for ractopamine without delay, the report said.
The government has resisted allowing imports of US beef and pork that contain traces of the leanness-enhancing veterinary drug ractopamine due to potential health hazards.
It relented on beef in 2012 after maximum residue limits for ractopamine in beef and pork were passed by a narrow margin by a UN food standards-setting body.
Ractopamine in pork remains banned because of ongoing safety concerns about the drug and strong opposition from Taiwanese pig farmers.
The nearly 500-page report devoted eight pages to Taiwan in six categories — technical barriers to trade, import policies, intellectual property rights protection, investment barriers, services barriers and other barriers, although the content was similar to that in last year’s report.
It said US stakeholders continue to underscore the need for greater transparency and predictability in Taiwan’s pricing and reimbursement policies for pharmaceuticals, including innovative ones, in the nation’s health care system.
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) on Saturday said that in terms of food management, the government would conduct risk assessments based on scientific evidence and international regulations.
On bilateral trade negotiations, Taipei would like to see communications and cooperation on trade between Taiwan and the US continue, he said.
The government would work to promote overall economic development and expand cooperation with the US, he said.
The Bureau of Foreign Trade said it would discuss these issues with the US through the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement channel.
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