Taiwanese Referendum Could Reimpose Ban on American Pork

Taiwan is scheduled to hold four referendums on Saturday, one of them concerning a ban on American pork products lifted in January.

If voters decide to reimpose the ban, it could damage Taiwan’s relationship with the United States and complicate Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Adding to the political tension is the Biden administration’s shocking decision to cut the video feed from Taiwanese minister Audrey Tang during last week’s “Summit for Democracy,” because Tang displayed a map that might have angered Communist China.

The Taiwanese government officially accepted the Biden State Department’s excuse – later dismissed as false by White House sources who spoke to the media – that Tang’s feed was lost due to a “technical issue,” but Taiwanese officials were reportedly angered by the blackout, and the voting public might be even angrier.

Taiwan banned American beef and pork products because it can contain a growth agent called ractopamine, a substance banned in some countries (including Taiwan, China, Russia, and the European Union) but classified safe for human consumption by others (including Japan, South Korea, and the United States).

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen indicated the ban would be repealed in the summer of 2020, a controversial decision fiercely opposed by rival politicians. There were sizable protests against Tsai’s decision in Taipei. The repeal of the pork ban became effective in January 2021.

According to Nikkei Asia, recent Taiwanese polling shows 55-percent support for reinstating the pork ban, versus about 40% who want American pork imports to remain legal.

Restoring the ban could create political friction with the U.S. and complicate efforts to develop a bilateral trade agreement, and alienate other members of the CPTPP, an international trade association Taiwan aspires to join. In particular, Taiwan’s bid could lose support from Japan, a close U.S. ally that does not ban ractopamine.

Tsai warned about these international ramifications at a rally on Sunday, telling voters that reviving the pork ban would weaken her DPP party, strengthen the opposition Kuomintang, and shake the “trust” of CPTPP members.

“Unless we clear this hurdle, Taiwan will go back to the past under the Kuomintang in which we were trapped within China, unable to get out,” she said.

Lee Chun-lai, honorary chairman of Taiwan’s Poultry Sale and Development Association, said on Tuesday that his coalition – which collectively accounts for about 90 percent of Taiwan’s pork imports – would continue to insist on ractopamine-free imports, no matter the outcome of Saturday’s referendum.

“We may have humble origins, but we live up to our promises: We will not import any pork with ractopamine until the public can accept such additives in their meat,” Lee said.