For those in Taiwan who enjoy T-bone steak and beef short-ribs, there was good news this month in the announcement that imports of U.S. bone-in beef would be resumed as of mid-November. A ban on those cuts of meats, along with beef offal, had been in force since the mad-cow scare of 2005.

The Taiwan government is to be commended for deciding to reopen the market in the interest of consumer choice and fair trade. But predictably it is taking a bit of flack from politicians in both parties and self-anointed consumer advocates, who spot a good opportunity to generate publicity for themselves. Undoubtedly any points raised in this editorial will not change the minds of those railing against the government for allegedly endangering the public’s health (they will dismiss anything we say as representing the selfish interests of U.S. business).

But for anyone with an open mind, we offer the reminder that before making its determination, Taiwan’s Department of Health conducted exhaustive research, even dispatching teams to U.S. slaughterhouses, and found no evidence of any health risk from consumption of U.S. bone-in beef. It is also noteworthy that in the United States – which has rigorous food-safety standards and its own vigilant media and consumer groups – millions of consumers are dining each day on U.S.-grown beef. And they are partaking of beef from animals of all ages, whereas the exports to Taiwan will be limited to meat from cattle under 30 months old.

We predict that the argument will be won in the marketplace, when Taiwanese consumers flock to the supermarkets and restaurants to do their purchasing.

In the meantime, AmCham also expresses relief over resolution of the beef issue, which had become a major trade irritant between Washington and Taipei – to the extent of preventing the holding of regular trade and investment talks. The Chamber believes there are lessons for both sides to learn from this experience, so that such stalemates can be avoided in the future.

To the U.S. government, AmCham would emphasize that the interests of the business community as a whole should take precedence over the concerns of any particular sector. However important the Taiwan beef-import issue was to U.S. cattle ranchers and meat packers, it was a disservice to allow that position to hold up trade negotiations that could benefit numerous other industries. Considering the frequency and political sensitivity of that agricultural trade issues, care must be taken that the beef imbroglio is not followed by similar impasses over rice, pork, or other commodities.

To Taiwan, the Chamber notes that a major reason for the resentment in Washington was that U.S. officials felt they had been repeatedly assured by their Taiwan counterparts that the problem would be speedily resolved, only to have it drag on interminably. It would have been preferable to alert the U.S. side that the matter would not lend itself to a quick fix. 

Now, finally, with the beef dispute out of the way, AmCham is confident that U.S.-Taiwan economic ties can move forward in ways that will bring strong benefits to both economies.