July 25, 2012

 

Taiwan to fix ractopamine limit on US beef

 

 

If a revision to loosen the constraints on imported US beef is given in an upcoming extraordinary legislative session, the Council of Agriculture (COA) will fix the residue limit for ractopamine in beef.

 

COA Minister Chen Bao-ji said the council will only establish a residue limit for beef and will retain a zero-tolerance policy of the drug in pork, adding that separate permits for imported pork and beef are used in countries and areas such as New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong.

 

Addressing the issue of some domestic hog farmers who wish to use the drug to increase growth in swine while keeping the animals lean, Chen reiterated the zero-tolerance policy of the drug in swine, saying that no domestic or imported pork products are allowed to contain ractopamine.

 

He said the government will follow the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures set by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and will maintain the ban on ractopamine in imported pork via administrative orders.

 

The SPS measures are a set of rules that allow WTO member states to apply food safety and animal and plant regulations while ensuring that such regulations are not used as an excuse for protecting domestic products from foreign competition.

 

Taiwan has been a member of the WTO since 2002.

 

Meanwhile, opposition party lawmakers said in a press conference that the government's policy of "safe tolerance, separation of beef and pork, compulsory labeling, and exclusion of offal" on ractopamine should be clearly stated in domestic laws and not just via administrative orders.

 

Only when the principles are clearly stated in law can the government have real restraining power on imported US pork and offal containing ractopamine, said Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Hsu Chun-hsin.

 

If the policy is not stated in domestic law, the next step might be the opening to imports of US pork containing ractopamine, and domestic hog farmers using the drug, which would lead to health risks for Taiwanese who eat pork as their staple food, according to Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin.

 

In response, ruling Kuomintang caucus whip Hsu Yao-chang said that Taiwan and the US have reached a consensus on setting different standards for ractopamine in beef and pork, and urged the opposition parties to put their differences aside to create greater opportunities for cooperation between Taiwan and the US

 

Washington has been pressing Taipei to ease restrictions on US beef, saying it will not resume talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with Taipei unless the restrictions are lifted.

 

The purpose of the TIFA, signed in 1994, is to provide Taipei and Washington with a platform for discussing bilateral economic and trade issues.

 

TIFA is viewed by some as a precursor to a full-fledged Free Trade Agreement between the two countries, although Washington has not made any promises in this regard.