President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of July 6 received the credentials of Arturo Duarte Ortiz, the new Ambassador of the Republic of Guatemala to the ROC. During the ceremonies, the president made remarks regarding the decision by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) to adopt a standard for ractopamine maximum residue levels (MRLs) in beef and pork. In regard to the imports of US beef, the president said that the government has proposed adopting tolerance levels, treating beef and pork separately, instituting mandatory labeling requirements, and banning the import of offals. In addition, policies will be different for domestic and imported products, he said. President Ma expressed his hopes that economic and trade negotiations can be resumed under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the United States, adding that the ROC is working to create the conditions to be able to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
After accepting Ambassador Duarte's credentials, the president remarked that the ROC and Guatemala have maintained diplomatic relations for 52 years and that the two nations have a deep friendship and alliance, which is characterized by close interaction at the highest levels. President Ma noted that Ambassador Duarte is a distinguished anthropologist in Guatemala and has carried out in-depth research into Mayan culture. He previously served as the Permanent Representative of Guatemala to the Organization of American States, Ambassador to Japan and Ambassador to Russia, which highlights his outstanding educational background and abundant experience, the president said, adding that Ambassador Duarte has been widely praised in all of his work. President Ma, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, expressed that he is deeply honored that Ambassador Duarte will take up his new post here.
In discussing economic and trade issues, the president commented that Guatemala is one of the few nations that has signed a free trade agreement with the ROC. In recent years, the ROC has actively sought to engage in negotiations on such accords with its trading partners, and these efforts have been the most fruitful in Central America, he said. The ROC's work in this respect is just getting off the ground in Asia. For instance, Taiwan and its top trading partner, mainland China, signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperative Framework Agreement, and it has also signed the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement, with Japan being its second largest trading partner. However, discussions with its third largest trading partner, the United States, under the TIFA framework have been tabled for the past five years due to the issue surrounding imports of US beef to Taiwan. The president pointed out that Codex, a global food safety body, during its 35th Session in Rome on July 5, voted 69 to 67 in favor of setting ractopamine MRLs in beef and pork. The president added that this latest development will be conducive to the resuming of trade negotiations between the United States and Taiwan.
President Ma emphasized that the conclusion by Codex constitutes positive news for Taiwan, as it proves that the government's stance over the past four months has been correct. The government will set forth maximum allowable limits for ractopamine in beef imports from the United States in accordance with the Codex decision, he said. The government will adopt a policy that focuses on adopting tolerance levels, treating beef and pork separately, instituting mandatory labeling requirements, and banning the import of offal, while also differentiating between domestic and imported products. In other words, he said, imports of US beef will be allowed to have a limited level of ractopamine. A ban will continue to be maintained on any trace of ractopamine in domestic beef, he added. The president also made it clear that if any person here is discovered to have been poisoned as the result of consuming US beef, the government will temporarily halt such imports. At the same time, it will care for the health of the individual and make every effort to seek compensation from the manufacturer, the president said. Under these strict conditions, the president said, he expects that allowing US beef imports will enable the speedy resumption of negotiations under the TIFA framework, which will help create the conditions for Taiwan to join the TPP. This will furthermore assist Taiwan in its effort to join in the trend of regional economic integration and avoid from being marginalized.