The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has suddenly announced the suspension of the policy exempting 34 agricultural products from Taiwan from import duties starting on September 25. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council expressed that mainland China’s economic coercion against Taiwan for political reasons is not conducive to maintaining cross-strait relations. The Ministry of Agriculture stated that the CCP has long been unilaterally adopting non-tariff trade barrier measures affecting Taiwan’s agricultural product exports, with limited and controllable losses.
The CCP’s Ministry of Finance claimed on the 18th that due to Taiwan’s discriminatory measures such as bans and restrictions on mainland products, which severely hinder cross-strait economic cooperation, the CCP’s State Council Tariff Commission announced the suspension of the policy exempting import duties on 34 agricultural products such as fresh fruits, vegetables, and aquatic products originating from Taiwan, starting September 25.
The Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China released a press statement expressing regret over the CCP’s announcement on September 18 to suspend the policy exempting import duties on 34 agricultural products from Taiwan, effective from September 25, 2024. The council lamented that the mainland’s actions constitute economic coercion against Taiwan once again, harming the interests of farmers and fishermen on both sides, leading to resentment among Taiwanese farmers, fishermen, and the public, and hindering the long-term development of cross-strait relations.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council stated that the mainland’s use of economic measures to pressure and intimidate Taiwan for political reasons is not conducive to maintaining cross-strait relations. Recent actions by the CCP clearly indicate that trade is being used as a weapon, and all preferential measures are being used as tools of coercion. The government has repeatedly warned against relying on the so-called “goodwill” of the CCP. The fact is that all CCP “goodwill” is politically motivated and can be revoked at any time.
The Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council pointed out that the Ministry of Agriculture has been actively supporting the transformation and upgrade of domestic agricultural products in recent years, continuously exploring diverse export markets, reducing Taiwan’s reliance on the mainland’s single market, and safeguarding the rights of farmers.
“The mainland unilaterally deems our trade measures as trade barriers and retaliates against us, which violates the norms of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Both sides are WTO members, and in addressing trade disputes and other issues, both parties should uphold a responsible attitude, resolve disputes through dialogue rather than confrontation, and communicate pragmatically through existing mechanisms such as the WTO and agreements,” the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council stated.
The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of China issued a statement indicating that the CCP implemented zero tariffs on Taiwan’s agricultural products in 2005 and 2007, without confirming or announcing the detailed schedule at that time. Considering that the CCP may unilaterally and without negotiation cancel preferential measures at any time, Taiwan had urged the mainland to initiate consultations regarding the implementation schedule of zero tariffs and fast customs clearance methods, but has yet to receive a response from the CCP.
The Ministry of Agriculture of Taiwan stated that despite the CCP’s unilateral announcement on the 18th to suspend the import duty exemption policy on 34 agricultural products from Taiwan, in reality, the CCP had already unilaterally suspended Taiwanese exports of pineapples, mangoes, and wax apples, with few items enjoying zero tariff benefits for export to China. Additionally, the CCP implemented an entry food registration system, which hinders Taiwanese exporters from registering in China. In fact, the CCP had long been unilaterally adopting non-tariff trade barrier measures impacting Taiwan’s agricultural product exports.
“In addition to tariffs, Taiwan’s fruit exports to mainland China face high transportation costs, long clearance times, high mainland value-added taxes, prevalent counterfeiting of Taiwanese fruits, competitive low-priced fruits, and unresolved trade disputes related to payment and quality,” the Ministry of Agriculture of Taiwan noted.
The Ministry of Agriculture of Taiwan indicated that it will continue to implement various production and marketing measures, enhance the competitiveness of agricultural product exports, maintain local prices, actively explore high-consumption markets outside of China, comply with overseas market quarantine requirements, including exporting fresh pineapples to Australia in 2020, pineapples to New Zealand in 2024, and red-fleshed dragon fruit to Japan in 2024, gradually expanding export markets for agricultural products.
The Ministry of Agriculture of Taiwan pointed out that Taiwan’s agricultural product exports to markets beyond mainland China reached $3.894 billion in 2020 and have increased to $4.39 billion by 2023. The ministry will continue to export high-quality Taiwanese agricultural and fishery products to high-consumption markets, enhance the overseas visibility of these products, resist tariff barriers, and ensure farmers’ incomes.