The Chinese government’s announcement that it is to suspend tariff relief on imports of 12 Taiwanese petrochemical products from Jan. 1 is “regrettable,” the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement yesterday.
The move is the latest example of Beijing “politicizing trade,” this time in the run-up to the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 13, the ministry said.
Taiwan continues to urge that any trade disputes be handled through the WTO, of which both sides are members, it said.
Photo: CNA
The comments came after the Chinese Customs Tariff Commission announced sanctions on 12 petrochemical products, including propylene and paraxylene, which have reduced tariffs under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) that the two sides signed in 2010.
The measures come in response to “unilateral, discriminatory trade restrictions” by Taiwan on imports of Chinese products, contravening ECFA provisions, the commission said, referring to the results of a probe that Beijing announced last week.
Office of Trade Negotiations Deputy Trade Representative Jenni Yang (楊珍妮) described the commission’s decision yesterday as “classic economic coercion” and out of step with international norms.
However, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said that the move would not harm Taiwan’s economic outlook, as overall ECFA exports only account for about 4 percent of the nation’s total and only 12 items are affected.
“We will not change next year’s economic growth [forecast] because of this. It will still exceed 3 percent,” Kung told reporters after a regular Cabinet meeting.
The Mainland Affairs Council separately condemned Beijing’s “election interference,” saying its actions harm others at no benefit to itself.
Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮), spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, cast blame for the decision on trade restrictions enacted by the Democratic Progressive Party government.
Beijing is hopeful that cross-strait relations can “return to the right track of peaceful development,” Zhu said, adding that negotiations to resolve trade disputes could begin “immediately” on the basis of the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The Petrochemical Industry Association of Taiwan said that because much of the petroleum sector consists of joint products — those generated in a single production process — the effects of the reinstated tariffs are likely to be felt up and down supply chains.
The Taipei-based Chinese National Federation of Industries said that the government should set up channels to communicate with China on the issue, while also expediting efforts to help local companies diversify into other international markets.
Ministry data showed that about US$1.8 billion of the 12 products were exported to China in the first 11 months of this year, or about 1.3 percent of Taiwan’s total exports to China.
The vast majority of those products — about US$1.6 billion — would now be subject to an import tax of 1 to 2 percent, it said.
Through last month, China accounted for about 35 percent of Taiwan’s total annual exports, down from 40 percent in previous years, it added.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
UNITED: The other candidates congratulated Cheng on her win, saying they hoped the new chair could bring the party to victory in the elections next year and in 2028 Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday won the party’s chair election with 65,122 votes, or 50.15 percent of the votes. It was the first time Cheng, 55, ran for the top KMT post, and she is the second woman to hold the post of chair, following Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who served from 2016 to 2017. Cheng is to succeed incumbent Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Nov. 1 for a four-year term. Cheng said she has spoken with the other five candidates and pledged to maintain party unity, adding that the party would aim to win the elections next year and
RSS