US report has concerns about Taiwan's agriculture rules

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has expressed “serious concerns” about Taiwan’s agricultural policies that “are not based on science,” and said that removing barriers to US pork and beef products was high on its agenda. “Priorities for the United States included removing Taiwan’s various barriers to market access for US pork and beef products,” the USTR said in its 2021 Trade Policy Agenda and 2020 Annual Report, which was released on Monday. The report highlighted “Taiwan’s rice procurement systems, the regulatory process for setting pesticide maximum residue limits and market access barriers facing US agricultural biotechnology products” as other priorities. There was no acknowledgement that Taiwan late last year took steps toward addressing its concerns over US pork and beef. Taipei on Jan. 1 lifted a ban on ractopamine, a leanness-enhancing feed additive, in imported pork, replacing it with maximum residue level (MRL) standards based on those set by the Codex ...