Taipei, May 8 (CNA) A landmark trade deal between Taiwan and China, aimed at creating an essentially free-trade environment for products and services, has saved Taiwanese exporters US$225 million in tariffs from Jan. 1, 2011 to March this year, a trade official said Tuesday.

Under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), signed in 2010, the two countries will reduce and waive tariffs on more than 800 products during a two-year phase-in period that started Jan. 1, 2011.

Meanwhile, 94.5 percent of the products will become tariff-free as the phase-in period enters the next stage, Bureau of Foreign Trade Director General Cho Shih-chao said. Among the goods exported to China that grew the most in the first quarter of this year were transportation goods, mainly auto parts for large vehicles and mountain bikes.

During the same period, exports of agricultural produce also grew significantly, increasing 58 percent annually to total US$52.6 million, Cho said.

On the Chinese side, the agreement saved exporters US$33.56 million in tariffs for their shipments to Taiwan during same period, Cho added.

(By Yang Chia-ning and Scully Hsiao)
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