With nearly 24 million people and a cultural preference for pork, Taiwan should be a better market for U.S. pork, NPPC said in a release on Friday. Last year, Taiwan imported just $13 million of U.S. pork due to market access issues.
NPPC urges Taiwan to eliminate restrictions on pork, including a country-of-origin labeling scheme. Opening new and expanding existing markets through trade agreements, investment framework agreements and market access deals is vital to the industry’s success, Maria Zieba, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) vice president of international affairs, said during a panel discussion at the World Pork Expo.
In 2021, Taiwan implemented new food safety labeling that targets the U.S. Since then, U.S. pork exports have dropped to $13 million in 2022 from $54 million in 2020. During this same time period, Taiwan has been increasing its imports from U.S. competitors.
On June 9, the Senate and House trade committee leaders introduced legislation to approve the first trade deal negotiated under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade Initiative and required the Biden administration to consult with Congress on future agreements.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) sponsored the companion measures, which also set robust transparency requirements.
“The United States and Taiwan share democratic values, deep economic ties and strong people-to-people connections,” Sen. Wyden said in a release. “Those links have formed the basis of constructive trade discussions. My colleagues and I want to ensure these agreements have the support and durability of a bipartisan approval process behind them.”
The first agreement finalized under the U.S.-Taiwan trade initiative covers customs administration and trade facilitation, regulatory practices, services regulations, anti-corruption and small- and medium-sized enterprises. Among others, remaining issues to be hammered out include agriculture, labor and non-market practices.
“We’ve made it a priority to get better market access in the Taiwanese market,” Zieba says. “I think the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade is a great opportunity to finally resolve market access issues that we’ve seen arise over the last few decades.”
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