Representatives of 70 pork importers stepped up on Thursday, announcing that they would not import pork with traces of ractopamine, after weeks of uproar over the government’s decision to relax its ban on certain US beef and pork imports.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) triggered the furor on Aug. 28 when she said that Taiwan would ease the restrictions, while setting standards for ractopamine levels in pork, in an apparent attempt to pave the way for a free-trade deal with the US.
Allowing more US pork and beef imports has been one of Washington’s prerequisites for talks on a bilateral trade agreement since 2012, when it threatened to discontinue new trade agreements unless Taiwan established maximum levels for ractopamine residue.
Tsai’s announcement, with her comment that the decision was “based on national economic interests and is in line with future comprehensive strategic objectives,” was clearly aimed at removing one of the roadblocks to Taiwan-US talks.
The debate over US beef and pork imports goes back two decades, and the stances of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party have flip-flopped, depending on which party is in the Presidential Office.
Promises by Taiwanese presidents — Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and now Tsai — that their proposed easing of import restrictions would be matched by a commitment to food safety — and in the latest case, the establishment of maximum levels for ractopamine residue, factory inspections and strict labeling — have failed to appease their political opponents and the public.
Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) declaration to lawmakers on Sept. 18 that the government’s ban on ractopamine use by the domestic hog and cattle sector would stay in place only left the administration open to accusations that it was willing to use the public’s health as a bargaining chip with the US, or that lifting the ban on US pork products would open the door to similar imports from other nations.
The latter is not a needless concern, for while 160 nations do not allow the use of ractopamine, 27 others do, including Canada, Japan, Mexico and the US. Canada is the biggest exporter of pork and pork products to Taiwan, followed by Spain and the US.
Imports account for a small fraction of the average 900,000 tonnes of pork consumed annually in Taiwan. About 84,341 tonnes of fresh, chilled and frozen pork was imported last year, and of that, 13.1 percent, or 11,058 tonnes, came from the US.
Local hog producers are worried that more imports would hurt them, but just because the government allows imports of US pork with traces of ractopamine, it does not mean that importers must buy it.
The firms that took part in Thursday’s news conference make up about 80 percent of the nation’s pork importing companies, and their announcement is likely to pressure the remainder to follow suit.
They said they would produce “ractopamine free” labels for their products to reassure consumers.
Their decision offers the government a face-saving way out: Taipei has shown goodwill to Washington by deciding to ease import restrictions, but it cannot compel people to buy US pork, and clear labeling would make it easier for manufacturers, institutions and consumers to choose who to buy their pork from.
However, feelings of relief were tempered by Executive Yuan Secretary-General Li Meng-yen’s (李孟諺) comment that absent global legislation mandating the labeling of ractopamine-free products, the government lacked the legal authority to require importers to provide ractopamine-free labels for their products.
That is just bureaucratic waffling.
Nevertheless, the government was clearly relieved by Thursday’s announcement, with Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Huang Chin-cheng (黃金城) calling it a “win-win-win scenario” for consumers, hog farmers and importers.
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