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Updated Friday, February 3, 2012 0:07 am TWN, CNA

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MOFA places TIFA talks ahead of beef issue: official

TAIPEI -- Talks under the Taiwan-U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) should be resumed to address the controversial issue of U.S. beef imports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Thursday, amid pressure from Washington to lift its ban on imported beef containing leanness-enhancing ractopamine.

TIFA is a communication platform upon which the two sides can exchange different perspectives on trade issues, including beef imports, MOFA spokesman James Chang said at a regular press briefing.

Chang said TIFA could help both sides eliminate differences and urged a resumption of bilateral talks under the agreement.

Talks under TIFA, which was signed in 1994 as a framework for Taiwan-U.S. dialogue on trade-related issues in the absence of diplomatic ties, have been put off because of U.S. dissatisfaction with Taiwan's beef ban.

In 2011, Taiwan blocked imports of U.S. beef found to contain ractopamine, a leanness-enhancing feed additive that is banned in Taiwan but allowed in minimal amounts in the U.S. and some other countries.

Raymond Burghardt, the chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), who arrived in Taiwan Jan. 29 for a five-day visit, has said the beef issue is key to a resumption of trade dialogue.

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