With its impending accession to the WTO, Taiwan decided to slash tariffs on industrial products to the trade-weighted average of 5.78 percent in the first year of accession, the Ministry of Economic Affairs reported yesterday.
Officials from the ministry's Industrial Development Bureau said industrial tariffs, affecting 3,470 categories of products, will be lowered from the current 6.03 percent to 5.78 percent in the first year of Taiwan's WTO membership and will eventually drop to 4.15 percent in 2004 when the tariff-cut move is completed.
Over the three-year period, tariffs on Taiwan's industrial products are expected to be slashed by 31.18 percent on a year-on-year basis, IDB officials noted.
The officials said the cross-the-board industrial tariff cut is not expected to have a major impact on most areas of Taiwan's industrial sector, except for on those relying heavily on the domestic market to survive. These would include the household electrical appliance manufacturing, automobile and tire manufacturing, heavy electrical machinery manufacturing and paper making industry.
In related news, the officials said that Taiwan's government has been soliciting support from WTO member countries for Taiwan's proposal to allow the continued imposition of quota restrictions after Taiwan enters the WTO in order to protect the nation's fragile compact-car manufacturing sector.
Compact-car imports which meet the quota will have a tariff rate of 30 percent in the first year, with the rate being gradually lowered to 17.5 percent by the ninth year of Taiwan's WTO membership, the officials said.
Taiwan is expected to join the body following a ministerial meeting to be held in Qatar from Nov. 9 to Nov. 13. Taiwan will become a full WTO member 30 days after the meeting if the Legislative Yuan convenes a special session to give its stamp of approval.
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