Taiwan to lift ractopamine restrictions

Will this lead also to cheaper meat on the shelves?

Will competition lead to cheaper prices? Of course.

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Also I hope Abeā€™s resignation wonā€™t get in the way. Heā€™s very pro-Taiwan.

Youā€™re asking the wrong person. I donā€™t drink cofffee.

I hope more choices too. The selection is limited here. Iā€™d to buy a brisket and other cuts without having to be an importer.

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I read that ractopamine cures COVID-19 :smile:

Remaining Questions and Thoughts:

  1. Will the US and Taiwan sign an official free trade agreement, or just do it informally through the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement? A formal one would go a longer way in giving other countries the guts to do the same. While tariff-free access to the US market is nice, the gains arenā€™t that huge and the ripple effect of other countryā€™s signing FTAs with Taiwan are more beneficial. We should do it before Trump leaves office, because this administration hasnā€™t been shy about overtly sticking it to China. Japan has signaled that it would sign one with Taiwan once the US does. UK has also been contemplating one with Taiwan and this might push them over.
  2. Japan has voiced its support for Taiwanā€™s entry into the CPTPP. But Abe is resigning, and he has been a great friend to Taiwan. Whoever his successor is will likely not be as close to Taiwan (reversion to the mean). Currently, the only non-allies Taiwan has FTAs with are New Zealand and Singapore.
  3. More FTAs means more foreign investment.
  4. Look at Tsaiā€™s legacy if this thing goes through.

-Pension Reform
-Facilitation of Rise in inward tourism from Japan, Korea, and NSB countries
-Balancing the budget and lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio to 31%
-USFTA that raised salaries after a decade-long stagnation

The only thing she has left on her to-do list is to start developing indigenous weaponry.

Iā€™d say they should add a lot more. Iā€™ve been waiting for ages for meat that promotes leanness.

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Maybe if you bump a few lines of ractopamine itā€™ll have a slimming effect. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Americaā€™s best Secretary of State.

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You right wing nazi

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Pretty open minded for a Naziā€¦ :grin:

All meat promotes leanness. Just donā€™t eat it in a bun with ketchup.

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Was obesity even a thing before we started farming and not eating as much meat?

I know people argue about that sort of thing, but itā€™s pretty much impossible to tell because agriculture appeared centuries before written histories.

As far as I can tell, obesity was only ever a luxury of the privileged. If you were too fat to move around, youā€™d either not be able to earn a living or youā€™d be too slow to outrun the raiders from the next village. Either way, you wouldnā€™t last long.

Back to the topic at hand ā€¦ I agree itā€™s hypocritical to keep out American beef when the local meat industry standards are as bad, if not worse. Itā€™s just a little sad that it sends all the wrong signals, ie., business as usual, we can keep on abusing nature until, uh, the next time nature fights back.

Science aside, this is an interesting political manoeuver by Tsai.

Think about it: the KMT is in disarray and have just been booted out of Kaohsiung City. The DPP has high approval for the way the central government authorities have handled the COVID crisis. Itā€™s holding a lot of political capital and is willing to cash it in, even if it means alienating part of its base in the south.

The last time the party made this kind of measured calculation was with same sex marriage. Yes it cost them some support, but they still won. I suspect a similar sort of calculation may be at play here too.

Guy

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Why does she care, with two term limits. Good time to push unpopular politics when you canā€™t run again anyway.

Local governments are fighting this change.

Eat all the American pork with ractopamine you can. Hereā€™s solidarity from the USA.

Looking at the Taiwan press, this is going to be an uphill battle. Any threat or perceived threat to farmersā€™ livelihoods bring together economic, social and political interests.