October 5,  2020

Taiwan minister not supportive of health surcharge on US pork containing ractopamine

A health surcharge on Taiwan's import of US pork containing traces of the feed additive ractopamine is not getting support from the Taiwanese Minister of Health and Welfare.

According to the minister, Chen Shih-chung, a health surcharge on US pork could be considered a non-tariff trade barrier. Although the tax could help finance Taiwan's National Health System, there should be good justification for more health taxes, he said.

He made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee to report on government measures to ensure schoolchildren's safety after imports of pork containing ractopamine and beef from cattle older than 30 months are to be permitted from January 1, 2021.

The surcharge was proposed during a meeting of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's National Health Insurance Committee in mid-September.

However, no consensus was reached at the meeting.

- Taipei Times