The TSU caucus cited the Petroleum Administration Act (石油管理法), saying the “emergency” situation stipulated in the law could be used by the government to keep fuel prices low.
The fuel price increases could trigger a rise in the overall commodity price index and the inflationary pressures could be interpreted as an emergency, TSU caucus whip Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) said.
The government would be able to limit Taiwan’s fuel exports in such an emergency situation, Hsu said. In this case the government could limit fuel exports by privately owned Formosa Petrochemical Corp, which sends 72 percent of its fuel production overseas.
“Fuel supply in Taiwan would increase by 5.4 percent if the government cut FPC’s exports by 20 percent, according to our estimate,” he said. “That way, we think the fuel price would fall by 10 percent.”
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