Premier denies Taiwan concessions on U.S. meat imports in trade talks

Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Tuesday denied that Taiwan had agreed to allow imports of U.S. ground beef and ease chemical residue limits on pork kidneys as part of a proposed bilateral trade deal.

In a hearing at the Legislature, Cho was asked by Kuomintang lawmaker Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) to comment on claims that Taiwan had made concessions to Washington during talks on the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade.

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According to the rumors, Wang said, the United States had asked Taiwan to lift rules prohibiting the import of U.S. ground beef -- which Washington sees as a trade barrier -- and that President Lai Ching-de (賴清德) had agreed.

In response, Cho said Taiwan and the U.S. were now in the second phase of talks on the pact, which includes environmental, agricultural and labor issues.

Due to the recent U.S. election, however, "bilateral negotiations and contacts have stopped, and there has not been any substantive progress," Cho said, adding that "we haven't talked" about the issues raised by Wang.

Continuing, Wang asked Cho if there was any truth to rumors that Taiwan had agreed to "double" the maximum residue limit (MRL) of the feed additive ractopamine in imports of U.S. pork kidneys, which is currently 0.04 parts per million.

"There are no numbers of this sort being discussed," Cho replied, before continuing somewhat more ambiguously.

"As a member of international society, Taiwan can of course have exchanges with other countries based on international standards. But currently, we don't have anything like this," Cho said.

"International standards are Taiwan's standards. We will definitely protect food safety," he added.

In September 2020, Lai's predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), announced that Taiwan would set MRLs for ractopamine in pork, allowing it to be imported from the United States and satisfying a key U.S. demand to begin talks on a bilateral trade agreement.

The new residue restrictions took effect on Jan. 1, 2021, and a referendum to block ractopamine-containing pork imports was rejected later that year.

Ractopamine is used by beef and pork producers as a growth-promoting food additive but is also the subject of safety concerns.

Taiwan continues to prohibit its own farmers from using the drug, as do dozens of other jurisdictions, including the European Union, Russia and China.