The government yesterday criticized China for unilaterally announcing a plan to expand its suspension of preferential tariff rates for Taiwanese imports that had been part of a bilateral trade deal, effective from June 15.
Taiwan “strongly protested and expressed its dissatisfaction with” Beijing’s decision to further suspend tariff concessions on 134 Taiwanese products under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said at the legislature in Taipei.
Beijing’s move is “unilateral” and not in line with WTO regulations, Chiu said, adding that it was a “political maneuver” aimed at “exerting pressure on Taiwan.”
Photo: CNA
The announcement by the Chinese Ministry of Finance earlier yesterday would affect 134 items, including base oils for lubricants, racing bicycles and textile products manufactured in Taiwan.
It came less than two weeks after President William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party took office on Monday last week.
Beijing also launched two days of military exercises around Taiwan and its outlying islands last week.
China previously took aim at preferential tariffs under the ECFA in December last year, when it said it would terminate favorable import duties on 12 Taiwanese products, including propylene, paraxylene and other petrochemicals, starting this year.
At that time, China said the measures were a response to Taiwan’s ban on the imports of Chinese goods, which it described as a “trade barrier.”
In a statement yesterday morning, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) attributed Beijing’s latest move to Taipei’s refusal to adhere to the so-called “1992 consensus.”
Lai’s administration has “refused to acknowledge the 1992 consensus, blatantly spread fallacies to promote Taiwanese independence and separatism, and incited division and economic decoupling across the Taiwan Strait,” Chen said, without elaborating.
These actions had “severely undermined the foundation for cross-strait negotiations and the ECFA’s implementation,” leaving Beijing with no choice but to further suspend tariff concessions, Chen said.
The “1992 consensus” — a term that former MAC chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
In addition, Chen said the planned suspension was also prompted by Taiwan’s ongoing ban on the imports of more than 2,500 Chinese goods.
Taiwan’s “discriminatory trade restrictions” on Chinese products have contravened the ECFA’s provisions mandating both sides “gradually reduce or eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers on the majority of goods,” he said.
In a statement issued later yesterday, the MAC called on China to cease its “economic pressure” and “resolve disputes through constructive dialogue [with Taiwan] without imposing political preconditions.”
Presidential Office spokesman Lii Wen (李問) said that China’s actions were classic economic coercion that fail to nurture the healthy development of the cross-strait economy.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said the value of the exports targeted by the tariffs was US$9.8 billion last year, comprising 2 percent of all Taiwanese exports.
The change would have a limited impact, and measures are in place to help industries distribute their goods to other markets, the ministry said.
China’s reactions were “expected,” said Chang Wu-yue (張五岳), a professor at Tamkang University’s Institute of Mainland China Studies.
Beijing was sure to react in some form to Lai’s inaugural speech, but it would not outright cancel the ECFA or decouple economic ties, Chang said.
Beijing’s core strategy is to gradually integrate both sides, and the preferential tariff suspension is more a way of expressing its unhappiness with Lai’s inaugural speech, he added.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS