Taiwan should see its ties with the US improve further after a referendum advocating a ban on imports of pork containing the feed additive ractopamine failed to pass on Saturday, academics said.
Taiwan Institute of Economic Research president Chang Chien-yi (張建一) was among those who were upbeat about bilateral ties following the vote, saying that economic cooperation should continue and Washington could lend more support for Taiwan’s bid to participate in international organizations.
The referendum on reinstating a ban on imports of ractopamine was one of four held on Saturday. “No” votes slightly outnumbered “yes” votes on all four questions, and turnout was too low for the referendums to pass.
Photo: Wu Chia-ying, Taipei Times
On the pork question, 3,936,554 people (48.79 percent) voted for the ban, and 4,131,203 people (51.21 percent) voted against, with a turnout of only 41.09 percent.
To pass, the number of “yes” votes would have had to exceed 4,956,367 votes, or at least 25 percent of all eligible voters, and outnumber the number of “no” votes.
The US has long pressured Taiwan to accept its pork with ractopamine, a feed additive that many countries, including Taiwan, ban their livestock farmers from using, because of its potential risks to animals and humans.
Taiwan’s longtime import ban, which was only lifted at the beginning of this year, was considered an impediment to trade by the US, and Washington suspended talks under the bilateral Trade & Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) as long as the ban was in place.
Roy Chun Lee (李淳), senior deputy CEO of the Taiwan WTO & RTA Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said he expected Washington to continue the TIFA talks, which resumed in June.
The US-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, which was held for the second time last month, and the newly established Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration framework between the two economies are also expected to continue, Lee said.
More importantly, the US has placed more emphasis on the Indo-Pacific region and boosted economic ties with it, and has proposed an Indo-Pacific economic framework that it hopes to launch early next year.
He said the referendum results are expected to raise Taiwan’s odds of joining the Indo-Pacific economic framework, which would cover a wide range of issues, such as supply chains and logistics.
Earlier this month, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed interest in taking part in the newly proposed framework.
National Chengchi University professor emeritus Ting Shu-fan (丁樹範) said that Taiwan has become part of the US’ core interests, reflected by Washington’s decision to send a senior diplomat, Sandra Oudkirk, to Taiwan as the director of American Institute in Taiwan in July.
Oudkirk has previously served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Washington has also been eager to compete with China in the region, and the failed referendum on pork containing ractopamine is expected to allow Washington to give more support to Taipei by leveraging cross-strait ties to counter China.
Li Che-chuan (李哲全), an associate research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the failed referendum on the ban on US pork showed that the government is reliable and that the results are expected to earn more trust from the US.
With deeper trust, high-ranking economic and strategic dialogues between Taiwan and the US are expected to proceed, Li said.
Taiwan had long banned imports of pork containing ractopamine, a policy that the Democratic Progressive Party backed for more than a decade whether as an opposition or ruling party.
However, Taiwan began allowing imports of pork containing ractopamine on Jan. 1 after Tsai on Aug. 28 last year announced that the nation would set standards for pork with ractopamine and allow imports of US beef from cattle more than 30 months old.
Tsai’s announcement sparked an outcry among many who were concerned about food safety, leading to the referendum initiated by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲).
Lin tendered his resignation as KMT deputy general-secretary after Saturday’s vote to take responsibility for the defeat.
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