The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday released 31 registration forms and inventory lists Beijing requires Taiwanese exporters to fill out before they can send their products to China, showing that some of them have to disclose the proportions of ingredients used in their products, as well as the cooking time and temperature.
China last week unilaterally suspended imports of many Taiwanese products, including seafood, alcohol and other beverages, affecting 2,409 companies.
The Chinese General Administration of Customs said the companies had submitted incomplete registration information.
Photo copied by Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
Over the past few days, Chinese-language media have reported that several Taiwanese companies are not planning to submit additional documents to resume exports to China, and would instead seek to sell their products in other countries, as the Chinese forms require them to reveal trade secrets.
Among the banned food companies, a Taipei-based producer of pineapple cakes was reported as having given up on submitting additional data required by China. The report cited the company’s owner as saying that she did not want to reveal the proportions of ingredients used, the layout of her factory and other information.
However, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus and some Chinese-language media have criticized the Council of Agriculture and the FDA, saying they had failed to help the companies complete the registrations and questioning whether the information required in the forms really amount to trade secrets.
Photo copied by Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
FDA Director-General Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) on Tuesday evening said it is reasonable for a customs agency to ask importers to disclose the ingredients of food products, but the Chinese government goes beyond what is reasonable.
She said Beijing informed the FDA on March 9 that it would require firms to fill out the new registration forms, with the information required depending on what type of products they seek to import.
The FDA respects the companies’ decisions on whether they want to disclose the required information, she said, adding that the decisions involve commercial considerations.
The forms require certain food companies to disclose the proportions of ingredients, as well as processing methods, factory layout and workshop floor plans, as well as other information, the FDA said.
Beijing unilaterally decided to ask companies to use the new forms, requiring them to disclose information “in written form,” which means on paper, the FDA said.
Beijing uploaded the forms to its online food export integration platform on March 18, it added.
Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said companies based in other countries can submit the information online.
For them, the “ingredient proportion” field is optional, while the paper forms that Taiwanese firms must use does not mark any fields as optional, Hsueh said.
The FDA said that regardless of whether a Taiwanese producer independently seeks to export goods to China or another company is involved, the forms are the same.
The Chinese customs agency helps companies complete the forms, it added.
As of yesterday, 31 products under “recommended registration” and 824 products under “self-registration” had been approved by Beijing, the FDA said.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan, which accounts for more than half of the global outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing market, is well-positioned to develop copackaged optics (CPO) and manufacture precision silicon photonics chips, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Silicon photonics are emerging as a mainstream optical communications technology and is seen as key to overcoming bottlenecks in AI computing power. The technology is a key project under the government’s New 10 Major AI Infrastructure Projects, with industry, government, academia and research institutions working to overcome critical technological hurdles and build a self-reliant silicon photonics supply chain, the ministry said. Nvidia Corp in March invested US$4
Palau’s president yesterday called for a “unified” Pacific response to a missile test by China in July, while Taiwan and its Pacific allies a day earlier at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) reaffirmed their commitment to peace, stability and prosperity. China gave only a handful of nations short notice before test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile in July, sparking condemnation from several Pacific leaders. The 18-member PIF being held in Palau was expected to release a communique after press time last night, with a formal response to the test possibly included. Palau, which invited Taiwan to attend sideline events as an aid partner, urged
China’s continued efforts to inject geopolitical rivalry into the region and disrupt Pacific nations’ discussions of regional issues warrant greater international attention, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) last week led a delegation to diplomatic ally Palau to attend events related to the 55th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) summit. However, the absence of some member-state leaders has been interpreted by some people as a sign of fracturing in Pacific unity. Thirteen PIF members were represented by their heads of state or government, while Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Samoa sent ministerial-level representatives, a diplomatic official
STATE DEPARTMENT: A US official said that Washington would provide more than US$150m for Pacific island nations, with Minister Lin Chia-lung welcoming the plans The US Department of State has announced partnerships with Taiwan on two Palau projects after Washington pledged more than US$150 million for Pacific island nations. Following the opening of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting in Palau on Sunday, the department on Tuesday issued a statement titled “Promoting Pacific Prosperity: US Engagement at the Pacific Islands Forum,” which said that the US’ commitment to the security and prosperity of Pacific island nations “is steadfast and enduring, and remains a core pillar of its ‘America first’ foreign policy.” Meanwhile, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced at the PIF Partners
RSS