Taiwan to stand firm on US pork ractopamine ban: official
Want China Times | 6 October 2015
Taiwan to stand firm on US pork ractopamine ban: official
Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture said Friday that it will insist that the country maintain a ban on pork imported from the United States containing traces of leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine, amid fears that the issue could affect future bilateral trade talks.
Taiwan and the US held trade discussions under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on Thursday, and while the issue of US pork imports was not on the agenda, Washington has hinted that it would make signing a bilateral investment agreement more difficult.
The US suspended TIFA talks from 2007 to 2012 because of Taiwan’s refusal to import beef containing traces of ractopamine. They were restarted after Taiwan agreed to lift the ban, but local authorities are much less likely to give in on pork imports.
