Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) recently suggested that Taiwan and the US resolve their differences soon, through dialogue, over allowable levels of drug residues in beef.
Wang made the suggestion in an interview on Tuesday with reporters following a speech at Harvard University.
The resumption of official talks between Taiwan and the US over the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) hit a snag because of Taiwan’s decision to ban US beef imports that contain residues of ractopamine, an animal feed additive that promotes leanness in meat.
Wang told reporters that under Taiwan’s Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法), no animal feed residues are allowed. Taiwan needs to refer to internationally accepted standards to set its own criteria, he said.
However, until Taiwan decides on such regulations, it would be best if the US did not export to Taiwan any beef that contained animal feed residues, he said.
Meanwhile, the US should seek to solve the problem through negotiations with Taiwan, he said.
The US Trade Representative (USTR) responded by saying that while some US beef products contain ractopamine residues, the levels are within acceptable national and international standards and the products are thus safe for consumption.
The USTR said it was willing to work with Taiwan to set a mutually acceptable standard for ractopamine residues.
A USTR spokesman said that the levels of animal feed additive found in US beef exports to Taiwan were within the legal limit set by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, an organization jointly established by the WHO and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
The spokesman echoed a recent statement by the US top liaison with Taiwan, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt, that the beef row has affected the “mood” for resuming TIFA talks.
The US would continue dialogue with Taiwan to resolve major trade and economic issues between the two sides and it would also consider when to reopen high-level TIFA talks, the USTR said.
Meanwhile, a quarantine official at the Council of Agriculture said in Taipei on Wednesday that Taiwan would wait for an international conference in July on CODEX standards for drug residues before deciding on possible new standards.
Hsu Tien-lai (許天來), director of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, said three scenarios were possible in this regard.
First, he said, Taiwan could keep its existing total ban on drug additives in all meat products, domestic or imported, which means the ban on ractopamine would remain in place.
Second, Taiwan could adopt Japan’s model of “one country, two systems” — banning the use of drug additives in all domestic food products, but permitting internationally accepted levels in imported food, he said.
Third, he said, Taiwan could set new standards for allowable amounts of drug residues in imported and locally produced food, which means additives like ractopamine would become legal, but at controlled levels.
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