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US calls for beef
import restrictions to be eased
AFP, Washington
The US on Thursday urged Taiwan to ease restrictions on US beef, saying it
wanted to focus more on economic relations after President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E)
won re-election.
US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell
acknowledged that the US ¡§closely watched¡¨ last Saturday¡¦s election in which Ma
won a second term.
¡§We would like to see a continuing of ties, contacts, reductions of tension
across the Taiwan Strait,¡¨ Campbell said at the Stimson Center think tank.
However, he added: ¡§Speaking from a US perspective, I think we would like to see
more progress on the economic side, just to be clear.¡¨
¡§We would like to see Taiwan take some of the necessary steps on beef and other
issues now that the election is over that will allow us to have the kind of
flourishing economic relationship that we have with many other countries in the
Asia-Pacific region,¡¨ he said, in a rare US reference to Taiwan as a country.
Taiwan, like many other governments, banned US beef imports in December 2003
after mad cow disease was detected in a US herd, but relaxed the rules in 2006
to allow imports of boneless beef.
Taiwan moved in October 2009 to allow US beef on the bone, cow organs and minced
beef, but the decision was overturned after a public outcry.
Last year, Taiwan pulled from the market US meat with the growth drug Paylean,
which is banned in the EU due to health concerns but is considered safe by the
US, Canada and Australia.
US lawmakers from farm states have been adamant in pressing Taiwan and other
lucrative Asian markets to buy more beef, despite criticism by some academics
that the issue has overshadowed broader strategic interests.
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