June 8, 2012

 

Taiwan's majority shows favour over new US beef policy

 

 

More than 50% of the Taiwanese public is in favour of the government's policy to conditionally remove a ban on US beef imports with the livestock leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine, according to a survey done by a government agency.

 

The poll, carried out by the Cabinet-level Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, found that 54.5% of respondents agreed with relaxing the ban while 38.5% did not, according to the results of the survey released Thursday.

 

Compared with the previous survey in March, the number of people supporting the policy has increased by some 12%, the commission said in a statement.

 

The results of the poll come at a time when the Legislature is set to vote June 12 on whether to allow US beef imports containing traces of ractopamine.

 

The government decided in early March to conditionally lift the ban on beef imports based on the principles of allowing a safe level of ractopamine in beef, separating the permits for importing beef and pork, mandatory labelling beef imports and excluding imports of internal organs.

 

The survey found 64.5% of the respondents supported allowing controlled levels of ractopamine in US beef, versus 26.8% not supporting. A total of 61.2% respondents backed the idea of separating permits for US beef and pork imports, while 26.9% did not.

 

Some 79% said they supported the policy of mandatory labeling to detail the origin of beef products and other information, while 90% backed the exclusion of imports of internal organs, the commission said in the statement.

 

Issues related to US beef imports have been hotly debated in Taiwan in recent months.

 

Taiwan's ban on ractopamine has been central to the resumption of talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between Taiwan and the US. Washington regards it as a trade barrier.

 

The TIFA was signed in 1994 as a framework for Taiwan-US dialogue on trade-related issues in the absence of diplomatic ties.

 

The US decided against resuming TIFA talks in early 2011 after Taiwan refused to allow the entry of shipments of US beef containing ractopamine residue.

 

The survey, conducted June 4-5, was based on 1,082 valid samples from respondents aged 20 and over and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.98%age points.