TAIPEI: "National Security Council" (NSC) Secretary-General Su Chi dismissed yesterday media speculations that the US government has issued a warning about the measures planned by the Taiwan government to block the importation of certain US beef products.

To date, the United States has not made any response to the Taiwan authorities' plans to effectively prevent certain beef products from entering the local markets because of public concerns over mad cow disease, Su said.

The local media have been speculating that the US issued a warning to Taipei against undermining the beef protocol. In a statement issued November 2, the US said it was looking forward to Taiwan's move to "fully open its market to American beef and beef products on the basis of the bilateral protocol we have negotiated."

The statement came on the heels of an announcement by Taiwan's Department of Health that the government will take action to block imports of controversial US beef products by introducing stringent checks at three different points - at the source, at the border and in markets.

To ensure the safety of imported US beef, the government said, it will also adopt five different strategies that will include checking whether required certificates, such as a US quality system assessment (QSA) certificate, are attached to the imported shipments.

Legislation

Su said the issue was misrepresented in the media and that the US has not made any response to the matter.

Regarding a plan by legislators to amend the Act Governing Food Sanitation to ban the import of certain beef products, Su said "we agreed on revising the regulations only if they would not contravene the protocol recently signed with the US."

If the regulations are revised and they go against the beef protocol, that would tarnish Taiwan's international credibility and affect its overall development in the future, Su stressed.

Expanding access to US beef products is an established policy of the government, and it hopes that with its liberalization policies it can protect the health of the Taiwan people, he added.

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou's office and the Executive Yuan on Wednesday said they would respect the legislature's decision to amend the food sanitation law once the revisions do not contravene the terms of the protocol with the US or the guidelines of the World Trade Organization and World Organization of Animal Health (OIE).

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 11/06/2009 page2)