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In Taiwan, the legislature postponed indefinitely a planned discussion on American beef. Under pressure from Washington, recently re-elected President Ma Ying-jeou has been seeking to break a logjam on the long-running dispute. Ma, however, is caught between growing popular opposition to U.S. beef and a parallel desire not to endanger the resumption of stalled trade talks, which are seen as crucial to keeping up the island's competitive edge in global trade. The Chinese government did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a consultant said the BSE discovery is likely to push the government toward establishing strict criteria on American beef. But that's only if China resumes importing the beef at all. China imposed a ban on American beef after the 2003 outbreak. Talks on the issue resumed in 2010, with the latest round occurring in February 2011. Demand for beef in China has increased from 5.6 million tons in 2005 to 6.5 million tons last year, according to consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. In recent years, the Chinese have eaten more beef than the nation can produce, and 10,000 to 60,000 tons of beef have been imported primarily from Australia, Uruguay and Brazil. In South Korea, the second- and third-largest grocery retailers pulled U.S. beef from their stores to calm worries among consumers. But one of them resumed sales within hours, citing a government announcement of increased inspections. South Korea is the fourth-largest importer of American beef. It bought $563 million worth last year. Live cattle futures markets plummeted Tuesday, even before the Agriculture Department's announcement of the mad cow discovery, but they recovered Wednesday as it became clearer that exports would not take a significant hit. "The only two things that move the market are fear and greed, and fear moved it yesterday, but it's coming back," said cattle rancher Bill Donald, of Melville, Mont. The quick response from the industry and the government helped, he said. "The main thing with consumers is just to reassure them of the safety of our product and all the different firewalls we have in place," he said.
[Associated
Press;
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