WASHINGTON – Frustration is simmering over Taiwan’s undoing of an October 2009 bilateral protocol regarding market access for U.S. beef and beef product exports. Most recently, Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Trade Subcommittee Chairman Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-Texas) commended the Administration for suspending talks with Taiwan under the U.S.-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (T.I.F.A.).

Lawmakers in Taiwan voted to ban some U.S. beef products on Jan. 5, a move that reverses the agreement reached between the U.S. and Taiwan in October.


“The Jan. 5, 2010 vote of Legislative Yuan will not only have a significant effect on exports of U.S. beef and beef products to Taiwan, it has broader implications for U.S.-Taiwan trade relations,” the members state in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

They also requested consultations before any such discussions reconvened.

“At this time, we do not believe that the U.S. should move forward on these talks until Taiwan is once again compliant with its obligations under the Protocol,” the letter concludes.