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food safety | SPS

food safety | sanitary and phytosanitary standards

Better mad cow disease rating could boost US trade talks
31-May-2013 The Hill
American officials and beef producers are reveling in a new safety designation for US cattle and see the change as particularly relevant to ongoing Transpacific trade negotiations.
Do you want a US food safety standard with that chicken?
31-May-2013 IATP
To export agricultural goods, the US also exports food safety standards. The US Department of Agriculture and the US Trade Representative will soon see if the member governments of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations will accept the way US chicken processors butcher the bird.
Consumer groups worry US-EU trade pact will weaken health, privacy regulations
30-May-2013 Euronews
US consumer groups raised concerns on Wednesday about the proposed free trade agreement between the US and the EU, which they said could weaken government health, environmental and food safety regulations and undermine privacy on the Internet.
US livestock industry ready for ’comprehensive’ FTA with EU
21-May-2013 Farm Futures
Coalition of ag organizations says previous talks through Trans-Pacific Partnership should be used as model for EU agreement
Amul requests for a relook at EU-India FTA
27-Mar-2013 Times of India
India’s largest dairy co-operative - Amul - has requested the commerce ministry to relook at the EU-India Free Trade Agreement.
France draws red lines for EU-US free trade negotiations
20-Mar-2013 EurActiv
Food safety, GMO cultivation and France’s cherished “cultural exception” for audiovisual services are non-negotiable areas in view of upcoming EU-US free trade talks, the French stressed. The message was apparently well received by the European Commission in Brussels.
Premier vows to keep ban on US pork containing ractopamine
26-Feb-2013 CNA
Taiwan’s Premier Jiang Yi-hua said Monday that the ban on US pork containing leanness-enhancing drugs will "definitely" not be lifted while he is in office. Jiang was speaking two weeks before the issue is likely to be put on the agenda of an important round of trade talks between Taiwan and the United States.
In move towards trade talks, EU to lift ban on some US meats
5-Feb-2013 Euractiv
Brussels and Washington want to deepen a relationship that accounts for a third of global trade, and ending the EU import ban on live pigs and beef washed in lactic acid is meant to show the Europeans are serious about a deal.
Transatlantic trade talks near lift-off
10-Jan-2013 Ip-health
Like putting an astronaut on Mars, a US-EU bilateral transatlantic trade deal has been a long-held dream of policy makers that seemed always out of reach. Yet Brussels and Washington are edging closer to the launch pad.
Canada-EU trade talks continue this month, but Canadian ultimatum on beef too tough for EU tastes
9-Jan-2013 rabble.ca
The New Year has barely begun and European trade negotiators are already in Ottawa for more work on a comprehensive, "gold standard" Canada-EU trade and investment deal (CETA), reports Stuart Trew
Group presses White House for consumer protections in trade negotiations
3-Dec-2012 Food Poisoning Bulletin
A bipartisan group has asked the Obama Administration to ensure public health is protected as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement is negotiated. Two countries involved in this agreement, Vietnam and Malaysia, are seafood exporters and have raised red flags.
ASEAN set to ink deals with China
12-Nov-2012 Phuket Business News
ASEAN and Chinese leaders are set to ink two Free Trade Agreements at a bilateral summit later this month: one on sanitary and phytosanitary (animal and plant health) standards; the other would give officials more flexibility in facilitating growth between ASEAN and China.
Treaty tolls death knell for Mexican countryside
23-Oct-2012 IPS
The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations, which Mexico is to join in December, are threatening to eliminate the last defences of the country’s agricultural sector.
Japan easing restrictions on US beef, paving way for Tyson
10-Oct-2012 Bloomberg
Japan, Asia’s largest beef importer, will consider taking additional steps after easing restrictions on US shipments, widening opportunities for exporters such as Tyson Foods Inc. while ensuring supply to local retailers.
US pushes trade partners to lift ractopamine ban
8-Jul-2012 Taipei Times
The Office of the US Trade Representative yesterday urged US trading partners to eliminate any trade barriers caused by a ban against the use of leanness-enhancing feed additive ractopamine, following a Codex Alimentarius Commission decision to establish maximum residue levels (MRLs) for the drug in beef and pork.
Taiwan activists protest against U.S. beef
11-Jun-2012 AFP
Larger trade talks between Taiwan and the United States have stalled as a result of the country’s indecision about accepting US beef imports.
Activists protest at AIT over US beef import row
8-Jun-2012 CNA
Activists demonstrated at the American Institute in Taiwan Friday to protest what they called Washington’s highhanded attitude in forcing Taiwan to open its doors to US beef containting residue of the leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine.
TIFA talks may resume by year end if beef row ends: official
1-Jun-2012 CNA
Vice Economics Minister Francis Liang said Thursday if Taiwan can resolve its beef dispute with the United States, the two sides will be able to resume talks this year under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.
AIT denies tying beef to TIFA, visa waiver
31-May-2012 Taipei Times
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday denied that the AIT was “menacing” Taiwan, as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) put it, by tying a resumption of trade talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) to the US beef issue.
Mad cows and sheepish responses
29-May-2012 Korea Times
This is a response to the irrational passivity in Korean policy after BSE-tainted U.S. beef was found in California and the Seoul government failed to take strong enough action on beef imports.