Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 1/29/16

The election this month of Tsai Ing-wen as Taiwan’s new president was encouraging news to U.S. pork exporters seeking greater access to that Asian market, according to media reports.

Tsai, who will take office in May, ran on a platform of economic reform. A crucial part of that plan is having Taiwan join the Trans Pacific Partnership, a massive trade deal that cuts taxes on and lowers barriers for exports among the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries.

In a presidential debate in early January, Tsai indicated a softening on the issue of U.S. pork, alluding to Japan’s and Korea’s import rules which set legal limits of the feed additive ractopamine.

“We should compare with Japan and Korea’s experience,” she said, according to the Asia Times. “Domestic stock farming should be reorganized and modernized. To ensure food safety, the sources of all food should be made clear and rigorous examinations should be required.”

The Washington, D.C.-based National Pork Producers Council has expressed hope that the TPP can expand beyond the current dozen members to include other nations. NPPC has said, however, that Taiwan must address the ractopamine issue before it can join TPP.

NPPC has pointed out that the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs cautioned that that Taiwan needs to take steps to meet high international standards if it wants to join the TPP, including “scientific evidence as the basis for trade issues.”

Ractopamine is approved for use in hogs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and by the food safety agencies in 25 other countries. In 2012, the U.N.’s Codex Alimentarius Commission, which sets international standards for food safety, approved a maximum residue limit for ractopamine. American pork meets that standard.

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