Taiwan reopens market to U.S. beef imports

Taiwan reopens market to U.S. beef imports    Taiwan has gotten in line with several other Asian countries by reopening its borders to U.S. beef imports.
   Taiwan will begin allowing imports of U.S. boneless beef from cattle under 30 months of age.
   In 2003, the United States exported more than $76 million worth of beef to Taiwan, with boneless beef products accounting for $56 million, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in an announcement Wednesday.
   Taiwan, like many countries, banned trade in U.S. beef after the USDA confirmed a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or “mad cow” disease, in late December 2003. The country reopened its market to U.S. beef in April 2005, but closed it again in June following USDA’s confirmation of a second BSE case.
   Other Asian countries to resume trade in U.S. beef are Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea.