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Taiwan working to improve U.S. ties

Taiwan, as the United States' seventh largest export market of agricultural products in the last year, has just decided to further open its domestic market for U.S. pork and beef. As Illinois is leading in U.S. production of pork and beef and in major animal feeds, including soybeans and corn, I hope this long-awaited decision can be an encouraging development for farmers and ranchers in Illinois, especially under this depressing pandemic.

In late August, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen announced that Taiwan would quickly set maximum residue levels for the chemical additive ractopamine in pork according to international standards, and would lift the restriction on imports of U.S. beef for cattle more than 30 months in age. These new measures are expected to become effective from the beginning of next year after the government of Taiwan completes necessary administrative procedures.

This is no easy decision for my government; it demonstrates that Taiwan is now determined, committed and well-prepared to tackle difficult issues in our economic relations with the United States. By solving this sticky issue, Taiwan also looks forward to negotiating a comprehensive and high-quality bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. as our economies are not only close, but also complementary.

Taiwan is the United States' ninth largest trading partner so far this year, with a bilateral trade volume larger than what the U.S. has with larger countries India and Brazil. Taiwan is also behind many iconic American innovations such as iPhones and Tesla electric cars as a supplier of core components for them.

We hope that Illinoisans will support our initiative to launch a fair, mutually-beneficial, and gold-standard bilateral trade agreement between the U.S. and Taiwan.

Eric Huang, Director-General

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago

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