News
All main political parties slam China’s axing of tariff exemptions
The island's three main political parties have been slamming Beijing's decision to end import tariff exemptions on 34 Taiwanese agricultural and aquaculture products from 25 September.
The DPP is calling the move "economic coercion" by Beijing in an attempt to influence Taiwanese politics with party legislative caucus secretary-general Wu Si-yao saying Beijing is again trying to use economic means to achieve its political goals.
The KMT is calling on China to reconsider cancelling the move, saying the standards for scrapping its tariff exemptions on Taiwanese agricultural imports must have reasonable basis and meet specific requirements. The KMT is also stressing that its continuing position is to support cross-strait exchanges and cooperation in the belief that it can enhance the well-being of people on both sides and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
The Taiwan People's Party is condemning China's announcement, saying it's part of Beijing's efforts to use agricultural matters to force the Taiwan government to make compromises. And according to the TPP, there is a clear intention of provoking Taiwanese farmers to pressure the government, which will fail to improve cross-strait relations and instead exacerbate hostility between both sides.
Meanwhile the cabinet is urging China to engage in dialogue under the World Trade Organization framework. Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee says the government believes China's insistence that Taiwan-imposed trade barriers and its subsequent "retaliatory measures" are contrary to WTO regulations and that Taipei and Beijing should engage in "dialogue instead of confrontation," as they are both members of the WTO. Lee added that the government is strongly protesting what its describing as the "economic coercion" China has imposed on Taiwan since 2021.
The Ministry of Agriculture has said the impact of the policy change will be manageable, since other past practices have been created for Taiwan's products before. These include required registration for food products imported into China, high marketing costs, a long wait to clear customs, relatively high value-added taxes, the prevalence of local fruits posing as Taiwanese fruit, competition from low-cost fruit, and the difficulties involved in resolving disputes.
