US administration change: should ractopamine pork negotiations restart? Ministry of Economic Affairs insists on opening, Ministry of Health and Welfare promises an additional 300 million budget to strengthen inspections

With less than two months until ractopamine pork imports begin on January 1 next year, today (11/11) the Legislative Yuan's Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene, Economics, Foreign Affairs and National Defense, Finance, and Education and Culture Committees continued the previous joint meeting to continue reviewing eight administrative order amendment bills proposed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare related to the opening of ractopamine pork imports, including the "Standards for Veterinary Drug Residues" and the "Import Beef Quarantine and Inspection Operating Procedures."

Amid changing conditions in the US election, opposition lawmakers demanded a restart of negotiations and discussed case by case the inspection of ractopamine pork imports, the impact on the domestic pig industry, conflicts between central and local regulations, and inspection manpower. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the Council of Agriculture and other three ministries and commissions insisted that the established opening policy direction remain unchanged.

Opposition lawmakers mobilized strongly, discussed the eight regulatory order amendment bills case by case, and threatened that if the ruling party relied on its majority to force them through for reference only, the opposition would separately legislate to ban ractopamine pork imports.

Opposition: US administration change means negotiations should restart. Ministry of Economic Affairs: policy continuity will not be affected

Most opposition lawmakers believed that after Biden was confirmed to win the US election, Taiwan should respond to changes in the international situation and restart trade negotiations, and should not insist on opening ractopamine pork imports next year. Because Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Cheng-chi will travel to the United States for economic dialogue, lawmaker Tseng Ming-chung suggested that Chen should present Taiwan's majority public opinion to the US side, explain that Taiwan society has doubts about ractopamine pork, and buy time to renegotiate.

However, Chen Cheng-chi replied that US policy has always had continuity and will not be affected by a change of administration. He also stressed that our country's decision to open ractopamine pork is reciprocal trade under WTO rules, and that under standards set by Codex, it would be difficult to change the established decision to open ractopamine pork.