Taiwan to allow U.S. ground beef; U.S. lifts tariffs on 261 farm exports

Taipei, Feb. 13 (CNA) Taiwan will open its market to U.S. ground beef and certain edible offal under a newly signed Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), while continuing to ban high-risk cattle parts, the Cabinet said Friday.

Under the deal, which still requires approval from the Legislature, Taiwan will allow imports of U.S. ground beef as well as beef heart, liver and kidneys. Sensitive items -- including skulls, brains, eyes and spinal cords -- remain prohibited, along with mechanically separated beef and other specified organs.

The Cabinet said the adjustment aligns Taiwan's import rules with international standards, following the United States' classification in 2013 by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) as a country with negligible risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) under WOAH's international risk assessment framework.

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According to the Cabinet, the adjustment is part of broader efforts to remove nontariff barriers at the center of long-standing beef and pork trade issues, while safeguarding public health through science-based risk assessments.

Under the deal, Taiwan has committed to halving tariffs on 15 U.S. pork products three years after the agreement is implemented, reducing rates to between 6.3 and 10 percent, the Cabinet said.

Mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef and pork products will remain, covering packaged, bulk and restaurant offerings. Border inspections and post-market sampling mechanisms will also stay in place.

"The maximum residue limits (MRLs) for ractopamine in beef and pork will be aligned with international standards based on scientific evidence, consistent with the standards of the Codex Alimentarius Commission [the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization-run food standards body], and subject to Taiwan's own risk assessments," the Cabinet said.

On staple crops, Taiwan maintained protections for key food security items. Import tariffs on rice and rice products will not be reduced, and existing tariff-rate quotas for rice remain unchanged.

The Cabinet said current tariff levels on 27 major agricultural products tied to food security -- including rice, chicken, oysters, clams, garlic and red beans -- will be retained.

At the same time, the U.S. will lift all tariffs on 261 Taiwanese agricultural products, saving local exporters an estimated US$219 million in duties, according to the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA).

Products granted tariff-free status include Phalaenopsis orchids, tea, coffee, anthuriums, guava and tapioca starch. These account for US$374 million in exports to the U.S., or 42.1 percent of Taiwan's agricultural shipments to that market, the MOA said.

The ART was signed in Washington on Thursday under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, as part of broader efforts to deepen bilateral trade and investment ties.