A Vietnamese trade representative to Taipei rejected allegations yesterday that Chinese agricultural products have been imported into Taiwan via Vietnam and demanded evidence to prove the claims.
Ho Quoc Phi, deputy head of the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (VECO), said that the allegations had formed a major barrier to the import of Vietnamese goods into Taiwan, despite the fact that he had already clarified the situation to Taiwan’s top agricultural authority.
He said that there were cases of Chinese farm produce being smuggled into Taiwan through Vietnam, including tea, cigarettes and garlic, in 1991, but said that “those involved in those acts could not obtain Vietnamese certificates of origin.”
His remarks came after lawmakers recently made the accusation and said that a Vietnamese certificate of origin could be bought for less than US$350.
Ho urged the lawmakers to provide a copy of acounterfeit document to his office for examination.
He also expressed doubt that any Vietnamese official would issue counterfeit certificates of origin because they would face serious punishment.
The Vietnamese government began cracking down on this kind of corruption at the end of 1994 and there have been no recorded cases since 1995, he said.
Ho also said that labor costs in China are relatively high at present and it would not make economic sense to ship goods from China to Taiwan through Vietnam.
“We are willing to help investigate whether the allegations are true. If they are true, we will shoulder all the investigation costs. If they turn out to be spurious, those who made the allegations should pay the bill,” Ho said.
He said the Vietnamese authorities had been cooperating with Taiwanese customs officials to investigate suspicious Vietnamese imports to Taiwan.
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