Foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou says the results of the referendum vote last Saturday will have a positive impact on trade with the US. On Tuesday, Ou said the US State Department and American Institute in Taiwan approved of the Taiwan people's decision to not reinstate the ban on pork imports with ractopamine.
Ractopamine is a leanness enhancing additive commonly found in US pork. Taiwan's foreign affairs ministry was concerned that if Taiwan reinstated the ban on ractopamine, it would hurt trade relations with the US and other countries.
Ou says that US-Taiwan relations have always been strong, and that the two countries maintain an ongoing discussion regarding their trade agreements. This has been enhanced by the annual US-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, as well as the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.
The ministry says that the past referendum shows that Taiwan's people have a sense of responsibility and maturity when it comes to handling national affairs. It says it hopes that these results will pave the way for building ties with other countries in the future.