October 26, 2009

Taiwan's decision to lift a restriction prohibiting bone-in beef imports from the US is a welcome development, a spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative said Friday (October 26).

The action will help boost US beef exports, US meat industry representatives said, as well as eventually lead to even less restricted trade.

Taiwan has twice banned US beef since bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, was first discovered in the US in December 2003 and the remaining import restrictions are aimed at minimizing the risk of buying BSE-contaminated beef.

Thanks to the decision by Taiwan's health ministry, US exporters will soon be able to export beef products that contain bones - perhaps as early as Nov. 1, a spokesman for the US Meat Export Federation said Friday.

But US beef producers and exporters also want Taiwan to lift another restriction that still limits US beef to product derived only from cattle under 30 months old at the time of slaughter.

Dave Ray, a spokesman for the American Meat Institute, said Friday that US and Taiwanese officials have pledged to meet in 180 days to hold talks on removing the cattle age restriction.

There are many countries, including Taiwan, Japan and South Korea that still prohibit the US from exporting beef that comes from older cattle out of the belief that younger animals are less likely to have mad cow disease. Humans who eat BSE-contaminated beef can contract variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

"We value our relationships with our Taiwan customers, who purchased US$128 million worth of US beef in 2008, and are committed to meeting their needs," the AMI, USMEF and National Meat Association said in a joint statement.