The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs must take action and assist the domestic beer industry amid declining market share due to competition from cheap beer imported from China, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said on Friday.
The market share of Chinese beer in Taiwan has increased to 39 percent, while the share for domestic beer was at 36 percent, DPP Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said.
“There is a real risk of further intrusion by Chinese goods associated with the ‘red supply chain,’ which could endanger our national and economic security,” he said, adding that there was evidence that many of Chinese breweries receive large financial incentives and subsidies from the Chinese government.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times Warning: Excessive consumption of alcohol can damage your health
The ministries should compile reports on the beer industry in Taiwan and come up with ways to boost domestic brewers’ market share, Kuo said.
DPP Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) said that in the first half of the year, the market share of domestic beer declined to 36 percent.
“Although the Ministry of Finance imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made beer on July 3, imports of beer last month increased by 27 percent compared with the same period last year,” Hsu said. “These figures point to serious issues.”
“Growth in the volume of imported beer was higher than the increase in their value, indicating that the beer imports were low to medium-priced products,” Hsu said.
He cited as an example Chinese-made Bar Beer and Busch Snow Mountain Beer, which face anti-dumping duties of 13 percent and 33 percent respectively, saying that the tariffs were still too low and had little effect in deterring China from dumping in low-priced beer in Taiwan.
“Even after imposing anti-dumping duties, this did not stop their sales promotion, low prices and volume discounts,” Hsu said.
DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said that Chinese beer companies were also falsely marketing their products as being made in the US, Japan or Taiwan, and called on government agencies to amend the Regulations Governing Trade Between the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區貿易許可辦法) to ensure clear labeling of products’ country of origin.
National Treasury Administration deputy head Lin Hsiu-yen (林秀燕) said the agency would discuss adjusting duties on the import of ingredients for beer production.
Bureau of Foreign Trade official Huang Ching-hsuan (黃?萱) said they would coordinate with the finance ministry to provide guidance for the beer industry, and discuss possible additional conditions importers must meet to obtain permits to sell in Taiwan.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS