Parliament's decision to block a deal to expand US beef imports will damage Taiwan's standing and ties with one of its biggest allies, Ma Ying-jeou, the president, said yesterday.
Mr Ma spoke after legislators amended food safety laws that bar the import of offal and ground beef from regions affected by “mad cow disease” in the past 10 years. This in effect reverses an agreement that Taipei and Washington reached last October to lift Taiwan's US beef ban, and drew a rebuke from the US.
The American Institute in Taiwan, the US's representative office on the island, said that the amendment “undermines Taiwan's credibility as a responsible trading partner and will make it more difficult for us to conclude future agreements”.