Government forms new measures for agricultural imports

Taiwan may try to stem the flow of imports of agricultural products from China by using a range of measures after the two sides join the WTO.

To cushion the impact on the farming sector expected to be hit hardest, the government may impose import quotas, offer subsidies, raising tariffs, and help farmers diversify production, local Chinese-language media reported yesterday, quoting Vice Minister of Finance Wang Te-san (王得山) as saying.

Once Taiwan is admitted to the WTO, it will have to open its market to China's agricultural products. But in order to protect farmers from the effects of an onslaught of cheap agricultural products from China, Council of Agriculture officials said they may impose quarantine control against goods from across the Strait, the reports said.

Provinces in southern China produce similar crops to those in Taiwan, but production costs there are one-third to one-sixth the cost of those produced here.

Taiwan's WTO entry could cost the government NT$5.11 billion (US$147.6 million) in tariff revenues annually, the report said.

A legislative finance committee on Monday approved a revision of the statute on import tariffs, the paper said. Under the amendment, average tariffs on domestic agricultural products and industrial goods would be slashed to 14.01 percent and 5.78 percent respectively, down from 20.02 percent and 6.03 percent respectively, in the first year of Taiwan's WTO admission.