Politics

US beef row hinges on Taiwan law amendment

ROC Cabinet spokesman Hu Yu-wei explains June 18 that the Legislature must decide whether to lift the ban on beef imports with ractopamine.(CNA)

• Publication Date：06/19/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Kwangyin Liu

The decision to allow Taiwan imports of U.S. beef containing ractopamine, a leanness-enhancing additive, hinges on efforts in the ROC Legislature to revise the law, Premier Sean C. Chen said June 18.

“The Executive Yuan will not consider an executive order to permit beef imports with traces of the leanness enhancer before all legislative procedures regarding an amendment to the Act Governing Food Sanitation are exhausted,” Chen said, according to Cabinet spokesman Hu Yu-wei.

This stance is in line with the conclusion reached at Feb. 24 multiparty legislative negotiations, Hu noted.

The controversial revision was set to be discussed at an extraordinary legislative sitting scheduled for June 20, after opposition lawmakers successfully boycotted deliberation on the bill for five days before the regular session ended June 15. The extra session has been postponed because of an approaching typhoon, however.

The Cabinet version of the amendment proposes to allow U.S. beef imports on the condition that ractopamine residues are within a safe threshold, and importers and providers clearly label the meat’s origin. The opposition Democratic Progressive Party seeks to ban the use of leanness-enhancing drugs in all meat imports.

Regarding the upcoming Codex Alimentarius Commission’s discussion on maximum residue levels for ractopamine, Hu said it is not purely a scientific and health issue, but reflects an ongoing trade war between the U.S. and European Union.

Kang Jaw-jou, director-general of the Food and Drug Administration under the Department of Health, said he does not expect the CAC to reach a decision this year. “In any case, the commission’s standards are not mandatory and individual countries can set their own MRLs,” he added.

The CAC is a global body associated with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization that sets guidelines for food safety and consumer protection. Its next meeting is scheduled for July 2-7 in Rome. (THN)

Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@gmail.com