January 31, 2012

 

AIT chairman visits Taiwan on US beef imports' issues

 

 

In order to address a range of issues between Washington and Taipei, including US beef imports, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt visited Taipei Monday (Jan 30).

 

Burghardt, who arrived Sunday for his first visit since President Ma Ying-jeou's January 14 re-election, expressed the hope that both sides could enhance trade relations during Ma's second four-year term on the back of strong ties.

 

To that end, a number of issues are to be discussed, such as the lifting of the ban on the imports of US beef that contain ractopamine, a leanness-enhancing drug banned in Taiwan. The beef dispute has caused a suspension of bilateral talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

 

The TIFA, signed in September 1994, serves as a framework for Taiwan-US dialogue on trade and economic issues in the absence of diplomatic ties. There have been no TIFA talks since 2007. The talks, originally scheduled to resume early 2011, were further delayed after Taiwan found ractopamine in US beef products early that year and blocked the imports.

 

Asked when he expected both sides could resume dialogue, Burghardt told the local media "that's something you have to ask your own officials." Burghardt, who will wrap up his five-day trip February 2, made his remarks after an hour-long meeting with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng.

 

His visit also covers issues on the military and security relationship between Taiwan and the US, as well as the development of cross-Taiwan Strait relations and how that relates to Taipei-Washington ties, Burghardt added.

 

On concerns that the US did not maintain a neutral stance in Taiwan's presidential election, Burghardt said "Taiwan people made their decision based upon many things" and he doubted "anything any American said" would influence how things came out. It was a "democratic" and "free" election, which demonstrated that "democracy has now really become part of Taiwan's identity," Burghardt said.

 

Douglas Paal, a former director of the AIT's Taipei office who came to Taiwan to observe the January 14 elections, raised concerns over the US stance in the polls due to his remarks that were widely seen to be in favour of Ma's approach toward China.

 

During an interview with a local television station before the election, Paal called Ma's "1992 consensus" an "effective" means and "creative formulation," while describing opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen's proposed "Taiwan consensus" as "not possible."

 

The "1992 consensus" refers to what the ruling Kuomintang describes as a tacit cross-Taiwan Strait understanding that there is only "one China," with each side free to interpret the meaning of the phrase.

 

Burghardt was also scheduled to meet with Ma and other major figures in politics and business, including those from the DPP.