MOEA claims Taiwan is more stringent on US beef than S. Korea

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) held an open forum on Friday at the Legislative Yuan, concurrent with the Council of Agriculture's (農委會) closed-door panel over the beef dispute. Washington is pressing Taiwan to lift a ban on U.S. beef shipments containing ractopamine.

Wu asked Jieh if it is true that South Korea had been able to secure a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) before it agreed to discuss its own U.S. beef restrictions.

“Can't Taiwan make this demand?” asked Wu. “Is Taiwan's international standing so behind South Korea's, that we are unable to make this demand or have this kind of thinking?”

Taiwan More Demanding

“Our position has always been more demanding than South Korea's,” responded Jieh, the deputy chief negotiator of the MOEA's Office of Trade Negotiations.

South Korea had not demanded that the FTA come before talks over U.S. beef imports, according to Jieh. At the time, tainted U.S. beef had been a non-issue.

“Based on our understanding, mad-cow disease broke out in the U.S. only after their FTA talks,” he said.

“So chronology indicates there's no question of (South Korea using) beef as a precondition.”

Not so for Taiwan, said Jieh.

“Our legislators have demanded that we talk FTA first and U.S. beef later. We've consistently raised this position with the U.S.” he continued.

“Whether they'll find it acceptable, we'll have to wait and see.”

Jieh said that the MOEA and other ministries have been in “very, very tight communication and correspondence” in the face of increased U.S. pressure.

Factors that they have prioritized in internal talks are science, experience, and the will of the people. Jieh stressed that the government has set no timetable for a resolution.

Public Sector Airs Views

The Taiwan Homemakers' Union and Foundation (HUF, 主婦聯盟) said it was skeptical of the government's commitment to reflect national sentiment.

“We often see incidents when one Yuan makes a decision quickly and summarily for the entire nation. So how do we know what to believe?” said HUF President Chen Man-li (陳曼麗).

Chou Chin-cheng (周晉澄) of National Taiwan University's School of Veterinary Medicine said it is unethical to treat animals with ractopamine — the feed additive at the heart of stalled trade talks.

In 2011, the U.S suspended bilateral talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), after Taiwan rejected shipments of U.S. beef containing ractopamine.

Recent studies show that animals fed ractopamine become volatile and “extremely sensitive,” said Chou.

As for ractopamine's health risk to humans, nutritionist Hsu Hui-yu (許惠玉) said that “no food is perfect.”

“All foods carry risk,” she said. “Based on my understanding, ractopamine is not riskier than fried foods, which contain carcinogens.”

The point is not the risk, but how the government can alert citizens responsibly anywhere they consume — even at more opaque venues like schools and night markets, said Hsu, who heads the John Tung Foundation's Food and Nutrition Division (董氏基金會食品營養組).

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