The US government expressed its concerns over Taiwan’s mandatory country-of-origin labeling for US pork imports and maximum ractopamine content restrictions for some pork products in a report released on Thursday.
The US Trade Representative (USTR) on Thursday released this year’s National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, in which Taiwan’s regulations governing imports of US pork and beef products were among the issues addressed.
Taiwan began allowing imports of US pork containing ractopamine on Jan. 1 last year after it established maximum residue levels (MRLs) and put in place country-of-origin labeling measures.
Taiwan’s presentation of the labeling requirements to the public as a means to ensure the food safety of US pork products, while simultaneously implementing MRLs for ractopamine in imported pork, “inaccurately implied that there is a food safety concern with US pork products,” the USTR said in the report.
EU DISTINCTION
The report’s assessment runs counter to that of the EU, which bans the import of meat containing the feed additive and whose food safety agency in 2009 said that there was insufficient data to conclude that ractopamine is safe for human consumption.
Although the USTR report said that Taiwan’s ractopamine policy for imported pork kidneys and other edible parts was more restrictive than the MRLs established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the commission has been criticized for pursuing the interests of global agribusiness and not acting as an impartial standards-setting agency.
Despite this, the report raised concerns that Taiwan’s method of testing for ractopamine residue is not aligned with methods of analysis for ractopamine recommended by the commission and could provide inaccurate results.
Meanwhile, the USTR urged Taiwan to lift its ban on imports of US ground beef and some internal organs, and open its market fully to US beef products based on World Organization for Animal Health guidelines, the US’ negligible risk status for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and the 2009 beef protocol signed by Taiwan and the US.
ELECTRONICS BOOST: A predicted surge in exports would likely be driven by ICT products, exports of which have soared 84.7 percent from a year earlier, DBS said DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) yesterday raised its GDP growth forecast for Taiwan this year to 4 percent from 3 percent, citing robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related exports and accelerated shipment activity, which are expected to offset potential headwinds from US tariffs. “Our GDP growth forecast for 2025 is revised up to 4 percent from 3 percent to reflect front-loaded exports and strong AI demand,” Singapore-based DBS senior economist Ma Tieying (馬鐵英) said in an online briefing. Taiwan’s second-quarter performance beat expectations, with GDP growth likely surpassing 5 percent, driven by a 34.1 percent year-on-year increase in exports, Ma said, citing government
UNIFYING OPPOSITION: Numerous companies have registered complaints over the potential levies, bringing together rival automakers in voicing their reservations US President Donald Trump is readying plans for industry-specific tariffs to kick in alongside his country-by-country duties in two weeks, ramping up his push to reshape the US’ standing in the global trading system by penalizing purchases from abroad. Administration officials could release details of Trump’s planned 50 percent duty on copper in the days before they are set to take effect on Friday next week, a person familiar with the matter said. That is the same date Trump’s “reciprocal” levies on products from more than 100 nations are slated to begin. Trump on Tuesday said that he is likely to impose tariffs
HELPING HAND: Approving the sale of H20s could give China the edge it needs to capture market share and become the global standard, a US representative said The US President Donald Trump administration’s decision allowing Nvidia Corp to resume shipments of its H20 artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China risks bolstering Beijing’s military capabilities and expanding its capacity to compete with the US, the head of the US House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party said. “The H20, which is a cost-effective and powerful AI inference chip, far surpasses China’s indigenous capability and would therefore provide a substantial increase to China’s AI development,” committee chairman John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican, said on Friday in a letter to US Secretary of
‘REMARKABLE SHOWING’: The economy likely grew 5 percent in the first half of the year, although it would likely taper off significantly, TIER economist Gordon Sun said The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) yesterday raised Taiwan’s GDP growth forecast for this year to 3.02 percent, citing robust export-driven expansion in the first half that is likely to give way to a notable slowdown later in the year as the front-loading of global shipments fades. The revised projection marks an upward adjustment of 0.11 percentage points from April’s estimate, driven by a surge in exports and corporate inventory buildup ahead of possible US tariff hikes, TIER economist Gordon Sun (孫明德) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy likely grew more than 5 percent in the first six months
RSS