The government has started anti-dumping probes into beer and certain steel products from China, adding to a string of measures targeting Chinese exports by trade partners around the world.
Officials are investigating whether some hot-rolled and flat-rolled steel products from China harm the domestic industry due to unfair competition, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement yesterday.
China Steel Corp (中鋼) and Dragan Steel Corp (中龍鋼鐵) filed the anti-dumping complaint, requesting the ministry to levy a provisional anti-dumping tariff on such steel products from China.
Photo: Clare Cheng, Taipei Times
The products are used in construction and structural engineering projects, automobiles, home appliances, oil and gas pipelines, and high-pressure gas containers, the ministry said.
Beer made in China is also the subject of an inquiry, the ministry said in a separate statement, adding that the beverage has been exported to Taiwan at artificially low prices, hurting the domestic industry.
The probe stems from a dumping complaint by the Taiwan Brewers Association (台灣釀酒商協會), which said cheaper Chinese imports had cost its members’ business, calling on the ministry to levy a provisional anti-dumping tax on Chinese beer.
The association’s members include Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Co (台灣菸酒), Heineken Taiwan Co (海尼根台灣), Zhangmen Brewing Co (掌門精釀), Taihu Brewing Ltd (臺虎精釀), Le Ble D’or F&B Co (金色三麥) and King Car Buckskin Beer Co (金車柏克金).
As the finance ministry begins its probes, the Ministry of Economic Affairs is also required by regulations to submit its preliminary reports within the next 40 days to determine whether Chinese imports have disrupted local industries.
The finance ministry is expected to announce its preliminary anti-dumping duties on Chinese imports in late June at the earliest and its final decision in late October, ministry officials said.
The probes add to the challenges confronting China’s export engine, which has been a bright spot during a difficult economic recovery. A sweeping 25 percent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum imports to the US is set to take effect today.
Taiwan has in the past imposed anti-dumping tariffs on goods from China, including cement, and chemical and metal products. The latest probe is the first such measure Taiwan has aimed at China since 2023.
China shipped about 2.57 million tonnes of steel products to Taiwan last year, US trade data show, making the nation the 12th-biggest export destination for the products.
In addition, China was the largest source of beer shipments to Taiwan last year, finance ministry data showed.
The total value exported was US$125.4 million, nearly four times that from the Netherlands, the second-biggest exporter.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist