US welcomes lifting of Taiwan beef ban

WASHINGTON – The U.S. says it will wait to see how Taiwan implements the lifting of a ban on U.S. beef imports before deciding whether to resume trade talks.

Two weeks ago Taiwan's legislature passed a bill allowing Taiwanese to import U.S. beef containing minimal traces of ractopamine, a feed additive for creating lean meat.

The ban was the main obstruction to resumption of talks on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement that were suspended in 2007.

Taiwan hopes talks could pave the way for a free trade pact.

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis said Wednesday that lifting the beef ban was positive.

He said the U.S. will see how things play out in the next few months before making any decision on the trade and investment agreement.