Taiwan seeks to limit fallout from US beef ban

The announcement came after the island's parliament on Tuesday agreed to amend a law on food health to ban imports of US cow organs, minced beef and other high-risk items such as spines and eyes.

"We will send a delegation to the United States soon in order to minimise the damage and prevent any serious impact on Taiwan-US ties," presidential spokesman Wang Yu-chi told reporters.

Washington had expressed dismay at Tuesday's announcement, while Taiwan's foreign minister Timothy Yang warned it could affect planned trade talks with the United States.

The legislators' decision was to be finalised next week in a vote that would also determine whether beef-on-the-bone should be banned as well.

The move will partially overturn a decision by the health department in October to allow imports of US beef-on-the-bone and cow organs, which met with a public outcry.