No need for U.S. beef referendum: Wu

“The chances of U.S. ground beef and offal entering Taiwan markets are almost zero,” Wu said, drawing on an earlier statement by Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang.

Yaung said Monday that checks on U.S. beef will be carried out at the source, at the border and in markets. They will include five different requirements, one of which will be the attachment of U.S. quality system assessment (QSA) certificates, he said.

Detailed data on U.S. beef imports will also be required, containers will be opened for spot checks, safety tests will be carried out, and links will be established between animal quarantine and standard food checks, the health minister said.

Meanwhile, the Unites States Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in joint statement Monday said they look forward to working with Taiwan to ensure that the domestic regulations “are consistent with the protocol, the science, the OIE guidelines and Taiwan's international obligations.”

In Taiwan, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its ally the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) have been pushing for a referendum on U.S. beef imports, and several DPP candidates for the year-end city and county chief elections have voiced support for the idea.

According to a survey conducted by the TSU, 71.23 percent of respondents think the government should renegotiate with the United States on the issue.

Under the Referendum Law, 0.5 percent of eligible voters in the last presidential election — approximately 86,000 — must in the first stage endorse the application for a referendum. In the second stage, five percent of eligible voters — approximately 860,000 — must sign the petition before it can be screened by the Referendum Review Committee.

1|2

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email