Taiwan and US to reopen stalled trade talks next week

Taiwan and the United States will resume stalled trade talks next week after Taipei removed a six-year-old ban on some US beef imports, officials said Wednesday. The US delegation will be led by Deputy US Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis at the two-day discussions beginning Monday, the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy, said in a statement. Negotiations on a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, seen as a precursor to a full free trade agreement, have been dormant since 2007. The hiatus was prompted when Taiwan banned US beef containing ractopamine, a drug used in animal feed to promote lean meat. Taipei amended the law in July 2012 to allow imports of the meat to resume. Washington is the island's third largest trade partner and a leading arms supplier, despite switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.