ISDS Case Map
food safety | SPS
Many of Thailand's trading partners are expected to implement non-tariff barriers this year to shield their markets from a flood of imports as a looming global recession prompts governments to negotiate free-trade pacts.
Two influential American senators have written to Republic of China President Ma Ying-jeou expressing "deep concern" about what they describe as "continued Taiwanese barriers to US agricultural products."
Taiwan allows only imports of US boneless beef from cattle under 30 months of age because of concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease.
What does food safety have to do with free trade? A great deal, argues Common Frontiers, a Canadian group critical of the trend towards economic integration -- harmonization, as it's politely put -- of standards under the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The Fonterra scandal in China has evolved into a major food crisis. "We are seeing the reality of free trade in action, the negatives that have been concealed by the greed and arrogance of Government and private business interests," says the New Zealand Alliance Party
New Zealand's dairy giant Fonterra is caught up in the latest food scandal in China as the contaminated milk powder crisis reveals weeks of delay before the public was informed. NZ Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said “We signed up for a free trade agreement with no rules around environment or health, and so we are exposing ourselves and our companies to these types of scandals.”
South Korean police arrested nearly 160 people at a rally in Seoul Friday night opposing the resumption of US beef imports. It was Korean activists' 100th major demonstration against the beef deal.
For the past two months, protesters have been filling the streets of Seoul condemning a decision to lift a ban on imported beef from the United States. We speak with Michael Hansen, senior scientist for Consumers Union.
When KCTU called for general strike on July 2nd, renegotiation of the April 18 Protocol on US beef import to reflect food safety concerns was declared as one of priorities of strike aims. The Ministry of Labor and prosecutor explained that this was the main reason that it was illegal. This is a repetition of the South Korean government's very narrow interpretation that the only legal aims of strikes be related to wages and working conditions.
Thailand is being urged to upgrade itself as the leader in determining safety standards and relevant laws on food and agricultural products in order to surmount business challenges arising from free trade area agreements.
South Korean hospital workers on Monday threatened to strike this week to press demands including a ban on the use of US beef for patients' meals.
