The Ministry of Agriculture and domestic importers agreed to increase purchases of US grains and meat to US$10 billion over the next four years, sources with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday set a 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese products except semiconductors, which is higher than the 15 percent tariffs on Japan an South Korea.
Taiwan should agree to buy more US bulk grain as a bargaining chip for lower tariffs, as long as the deal would not risk the nation’s food security and public health, Feng Chia University international business professor Yang Ming-hsien (楊明憲) said.
Photo: Bloomberg
He also urged the government to secure a deal sooner by sending an agricultural trade delegation to the US this month, a month earlier than scheduled.
Sources familiar with the nation’s bulk grain trade said the date of negotiations cannot be changed, as the schedule is dictated by the availability of US trade representatives, adding that the Taiwanese delegation wanted to conduct the talks in June.
Taiwan last year imported US$1.3 billion of US soy and corn out of an estimated US$3 billion total bulk grain imports, they said.
Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) is to head the delegation instead of a deputy agriculture minister as a sign of the negotiation’s importance, the sources said.
The bulk grain trade talks would include the purchase of US meat for the first time, they said.
Taiwanese officials and importers agreed to propose buying US$10 billion in bulk grain and meat over the next four years, compared with the US$8 billion the nation purchased over the past four years, the sources said.
Taiwan would be able to afford the increase, as the value of US soy and corn has fallen significantly, following the US-China trade war, putting the US on roughly an equal footing with Brazil, they said.
The nation’s agricultural sector has already increased its reliance on feed imported from the US without being prompted, they added.
The Ministry of Agriculture declined to confirm the offer or Chen’s alleged role in the delegation, saying that it is not at liberty to discuss unsubstantiated claims.
Meanwhile, Chen Ming-hsin (陳明信), chairman of a business association for boxed meal operators, said the government must draw a red line to protect food security and public health.
The Democratic Progressive Party government has been friendly to Taiwanese farmers and instituted policies to promote the use of domestic farm products in school meals since being elected to power in 2016, he said.
The policies resulted in a higher retention rate for young Taiwanese workers in the agricultural sector, increased the total area of land under cultivation and improved children’s health, Chen Ming-hsin said, adding that domestic farmers produce 99 percent of the food used in school meals.
A failure to hold the line on US imports would undo the progress Taiwanese farmers achieved and undermine self-sufficient food production, which could threaten national security, he said.
Allowing the US agricultural sector to flood Taiwanese markets would allow US producers to dictate the terms and raise prices in the absence of domestic competition, he added.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
RSS