The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said that 136 Taiwanese products included in the WTO’s expanded tariff-reduction program for information technology products would benefit after the program takes effect on July 1 next year.
“Joining the expanded ITA would help Taiwanese manufacturers save a lot on tariff costs,” Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Bill Cho (卓士昭) told a press conference, referring to the Information Technology Agreement.
The ministry’s remarks came after the WTO’s ministerial meeting on Wednesday in Nairobi, Kenya, concluded negotiations on the expanded ITA. Members agreed to remove duties on 201 information technology products — valued at US$1.3 trillion — within seven years after the accord takes effect.
Photo: Taipei Times
The ministry said the 136 products — or 68 percent of the 201 products — would have a direct impact on the interests of Taiwanese manufacturers, helping them save an estimated US$820 million in annual tariff expenses.
Taiwanese exports of LED backlight modules could save US$233.9 million in costs per year once the duties are removed, Industrial Development Bureau Deputy Director-General Leu Jang-hwa (呂正華) said
Semiconductor manufacturers are estimated to enjoy US$132.6 million in tariff savings, while producers of digital cameras, television cameras and video cameras could see US$108.5 million shaved off their expenses per year, he said.
Leu said that as 90 percent of Taiwan’s set-top boxes are exported to the US, local makers could see immediate cost savings of US$72.8 million a year after the US eliminates the 5 percent duty.
Cho said the expanded tariff-elimination scheme would also help boost Taiwanese exports to emerging markets, such as Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Manila currently imposes a tariff of 20 percent on quartz or fused silica insulated fittings for the manufacture of semiconductor wafers, but it is scheduled to remove such duties by 2017, Cho said.
However, Taiwan still failed to have flat panels and machine tools for making flat panels included in the ITA.
Cho said the government would continue to negotiate on behalf of Taiwanese panelmakers in cross-strait trade in goods agreement talks.
Some members of the ITA were not happy with China’s proposal to remove tariffs on some of its products in seven years, Cho said.
In a bid to pressure China to shorten its tariff-elimination period, Cho said that several members, including Taiwan, the EU, the US and Japan, had increased the number of goods whose duties should be removed immediately after the agreement takes effect on July 1 next year.
Cho said that, for example, the ministry had persuaded Taiwanese manufacturers of 35 items whose tariffs were supposed to be removed in three years to opt for immediate removal.
As a result, China agreed to add five more items for immediate tariff elimination, he said.
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