Contouring Sweet and Sour Pork Trade Politics: National Interest Framing and Public Opinion on US Pork Trade Liberalization in Taiwan

This study investigates how Taiwan’s government gained support for lifting the ban on US pork imports despite widespread health-risk opposition. We ask whether strategic framing can elevate collective national interests over individual concerns in a precarious geopolitical context. Using a vignette experiment that randomly assigns respondents to national-benefit versus personal-interest frames, we find that emphasizing Taiwan’s international space significantly increases support for trade liberalization, whereas appeals to health risks and losses for pig farmers do not yield statistically significant effects. The results suggest that linking unpopular economic reforms to concrete diplomatic gains can suppress personal-welfare concerns in threatened democracies.