The Legislative Yuan passed a controversial amendment to a food safety law Tuesday, banning imports of certain beef products from the United States just a little over two months after the government lifted the ban. Ruling and opposition party legislators passed the amendment to the Act Governing Food Sanitation to ban certain beef imports from countries with documented mad cow disease cases over the past decade. The amendment came in the wake of two months of contention since Taiwan and the United States signed a protocol in October to allow the entry of bone-in beef and other beef products including ground beef and offal, that had previously been banned out of concern over bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou had been widely criticized for lifting the ban imposed in 2005. It was not immediately clear how the legislature's decision might affect relations between the United States and Taiwan, but the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) -- which represents U.S. interests in Taiwan -- issued a statement Tuesday expressing 'deep regret' over the move. 'The United States deeply regrets the Legislative Yuan's decision to restrict U.S. beef imports and the legislature's decision to abrogate the bilateral protocol being negotiated in good faith,' said AIT spokesman Christopher Kavanagh. 'This action also undermines Taiwan's credibility as a responsible trading partner and will make it more difficult for us to conclude future agreements to expand and strengthen bilateral trade and economic ties going forward,' Kavanagh added. Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang told reporters later that long- stalled trade talks between Taiwan and the U.S. that were originally scheduled to be held in February, would not take place at that time. He did not say whether the talks on the trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA) had been postponed or canceled altogether. Shih said several planned bilateral pacts that would have paved the way for the signing of a Taiwan-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) -- a topic to be discussed in the TIFA talks -- would also be negatively affected. The amendment will effectively bar 0.S. ground beef, beef offal and other beef parts such as skulls, eyes and intestines from access to Taiwan's market. President Ma said Tuesday that he will honor the legislature's decision and that the administration, legislature and both the ruling and opposition parties have reached a consensus to jointly shoulder the consequences of resuming the ban. He expressed hope that the controversy will only be defined as an agricultural trade dispute and that it will not have an adverse impact on other areas of bilateral relations. 'We hope the impact of this dispute will be restricted to trade and will not spread to other areas, ' he told a press conference at the Presidential Office. 'In particular, (it is hoped that this) will not negatively affect the hard- earned, high-level mutual trust built over the past 19 months between Taiwan and the U.S. on security and political matters,' he added. While calling the amendment a 'victory for the people, ' DPP Legislator Lai Ching-te said Ma should apologize to the people for the dispute and that National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi, who led the last beef trade talks with the United States, should resign from his position. Lu Hsueh-chang, a whip of the ruling Kuomintang's legislative caucus, said the legislative process fully demonstrates that Taiwan's democratic system is becoming increasingly mature. U.S. officials have repeatedly said tests have shown that its beef is safe. Coming under criticism for lifting the ban, Ma's administration had promised measures to inspect beef products and ensure they are safe before they are allowed to enter Taiwan, but the lawmakers were intent on overturning the administration's decision. Tsai Huang-liang, an opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator, said the passage of the amendment was in compliance with public opinion and symbolized a vote of no confidence in the Ma administration. The legislature simultaneously passed three riders to the amendment, including one in which the legislature pledges to cooperate with the executive branch in coping with resulting international pressure. The second rider calls for the government to tighten its inspection of beef imports to make sure they are from cattle younger than 30 months, and the last one states that if there is an outcome from a proposed referendum on the beef issue, the government should comply with it. Premier Wu Den-yih said the legislature's decision is not expected to affect an upcoming U.S. decision on arms sales to Taiwan. 'The beef trade is only a part of overall trade between the two countries, and the government will do its best in its damage control efforts with regard to bilateral relations,' he said. The U.S. is the most important supplier of defensive weapons to Taiwan as it is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act to sell arms to the country, and Washington is expected to soon decide on whether to sell F16C/D fighters to Taiwan. 