Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) yesterday welcomed bilateral discussions “without preconditions” regarding an investigation launched by Beijing into Taiwan’s trade restrictions on select Chinese goods.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Wednesday announced that it had opened an investigation into tariffs and other “unilateral” restrictions on 2,455 Chinese products, including agricultural, textile and mineral products.
The MOC said in a statement that it had launched the investigation following the filing of formal complaints by several Chinese trade and industry bodies.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
It added that the probe was scheduled to conclude on Oct. 12, but could be extended by three months to Jan. 12 next year if necessary.
Wang yesterday said that if there were “no preconditions, [and] China wants to consult with us, we are willing to do so.”
However, asked if her ministry would take the initiative and raise the issue with Beijing, Wang said the ball was in China’s court.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Foreign Trade said that China had failed to notify the relevant individuals, government agencies and other parties under investigation as required by the MOC’s own rules.
The Chinese ministry’s regulations dictate that it hold bilateral consultations or start a settlement mechanism for a multilateral dispute if the measures under investigation are confirmed to constitute a trade barrier, the board said.
Meanwhile, the Council of Agriculture said that Taiwan and China are both members of the WTO and any dispute over agricultural trade could be discussed through bilateral channels first.
The launch of the MOC’s probe has sparked concern that China might eliminate preferential trade conditions afforded to certain Taiwanese goods under the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.
However, a representative from a domestic petrochemical company said that they doubted Beijing would abandon the agreement with such ease.
China might be using the investigation and recent military drills to gauge the reaction of the Taiwanese government to its economic and military actions, the representative said.
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