The Executive Yuan has promised to refer the new Taiwan-US beef trade protocol to the legislature in a month’s time, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said.
Cabinet Secretary-General Lin Join-sane (林中森) made the promise after reaching a consensus with the KMT legislative caucus, Lu said.
Lu also expected the Department of Health (DOH) to brief the relevant legislative committees on the issue, because “in compliance with a 2006 legislative resolution, the DOH is required to provide detailed reports about the importation of US beef to the legislature.”
The KMT legislative caucus would not rule out sending the document for committee review, Lu said.
The new protocol is an administrative accord that would normally take effect after being approved by the Executive Yuan.
Under the Act Governing Legislators’ Exercise of Power (立法院職權行使法), any administrative order enacted by government agencies is then delivered to the legislature and put up for discussion in a legislative committee meeting.
If more than 15 legislators attending the meeting agree, the administrative order would then be handed to the related legislative committees for review, Lu said.
SCREENING
That is not likely in the KMT-controlled legislature, but Lu would not rule out the possibility. He said that if the protocol were sent to the related committees, its screening should be completed within three months. If the deadline expires, the protocol would be considered approved by default, Lu said.
After the DOH announced on Oct. 23 that import restrictions on US bone-in beef products were being relaxed, effective from as early as tomorrow, the KMT legislative caucus asked the Cabinet to devise measures for quarantine inspections of US beef imports before that date.
Under the announcement, US bone-in beef, ground beef and offal that have not been contaminated with “specific risk materials” would be allowed to enter Taiwan, while other cattle parts, such as brains, skulls, eyes and spinal nerve roots from cattle over 30 months of age would remain on the banned list.
The new market-opening decision has since drawn flak from opposition parties, consumer rights activists, lawmakers and also city and county officials.
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