October 4, 2010

Taiwan to resume beef trade talks with US

Taiwan said on Thursday (Sep 30) that long-suspended trade talks over US beef could resume by December, after a visit by a Washington representative.

The US-Taiwan Business Council announced that Deputy US Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis will lead a US delegation to Taiwan for bilateral trade talks which were suspended three years ago amid a dispute over imports of US beef to Taiwan and other issues.

The US delegation said in a statement that, after successful initial discussions, the two sides were now working to finalise mutually agreeable dates for the meeting, targeting late 2010 or early 2011.

Council President Rupert Hammond-Chambers said the upcoming dialogue will focus on issues regarding pork and rice, and he expressed hope that it will not fall into another dispute like the one that saw a Taiwanese ban on US beef imports.