Incoming Cabinet spokesperson Tung Chen-yuan has detailed President-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s policy on imports of US pork.
Imports of pork containing the leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine are banned in Taiwan, but the drug is widely used by farmers in the US. Friction with the US over the ban is seen as being a major obstacle to Taiwan’s efforts to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Now, the question of whether to lift the ban is in the news again after Tsai’s appointee for agriculture minister, Tsao Chi-hung, said in an interview that Taiwan cannot hold out against US pork forever.
On Friday, incoming Cabinet spokesperson Tung Chen-yuan said that Taiwan’s people hope to join the TPP. Tung said that President-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s four-point policy for dealing with the issue of US pork imports.
The four points cover ensuring food safety, limiting the impact of competition on local pork producers, adopting international quarantine standards for agricultural products, and opening channels of communication between pork producers and the public. According to Tung, Tsai has said that Taiwan must resolve the US pork issue through with talks on the basis of these four points.