Agriculture Minister Tsao Chi-hung says there’s no rush for Taiwan to allow the import of US pork products. Right now Taiwan does not allow the imports because US pork has been found to contain a leanness-enhancing drug called ractopamine.
However, the US says Taiwan needs to allow US pork imports in order to be eligible to join a US-led trade pact -- the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
At the legislature on Monday Tsao said that Taiwan doesn’t need to rush to join the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Tsao also presented strategies for making pig farms more sustainable. He said the agriculture ministry’s strategies include limiting the transmission of foot-and-mouth disease among livestock and bird flu in poultry. He also spoke about improving the survivability of baby pigs, and promoting biogas power generation.
When asked whether the agriculture council devised the strategies to help the local industry face the potential opening up to US pork imports, Tsao said the ministry’s primary goal is to make the industry more sustainable. He said that none of the US presidential candidates are in a rush to discuss the TPP, therefore Taiwan does not need to rush to come to an answer on the issue.