Economics minister vows 5 measures to tackle 'origin laundering'

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) Taiwan's Economic Affairs Minister Kuo Jyh-huei (郭智輝) on Thursday outlined five measures to tackle rules of origin circumvention, which he said is one of four key areas in U.S.-Taiwan tariff negotiations.

The measures are stronger monitoring of goods from China, communicating with Taiwanese businesses, establishing a blacklist of violators, imposing stricter penalties, and applying anti-dumping tools, Kuo told lawmakers at Taiwan's Legislative Yuan.

Stricter monitoring would target both goods redirected to Taiwan and those rerouted through Taiwan to the United States, Kuo said, and is intended to prevent trade activities that could "affect the U.S.' judgment of Taiwan."

"Origin laundering" refers to the deceptive practice of companies misrepresenting a product's country of origin to make it appear as though it was manufactured somewhere else, often to avoid tariffs or trade restrictions.

The economic affairs minister made the comments during a session of the Economic Committee, where the Agriculture Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) and Deputy Finance Minister Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) also delivered briefings on trade-related challenges.

The special session was convened to address how Taiwan plans to sustain competitiveness in its agriculture, aquaculture, livestock, and critical manufacturing sectors in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement last week that Washington would impose "reciprocal tariffs" on its global trading partners.

During the interpellation session, lawmaker Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) questioned whether the government was adequately prepared to weather economic turbulence triggered by the new tariff policy.

Kuo responded that as many exporters to the U.S. face a uniform 10 percent tariff rate, Taiwan remains "highly competitive" due to its industrial strengths.

Taiwan and the U.S. maintain "mostly complementary" trade in technology and other sectors, he added.

Kuo said Taiwan's Presidential Office and the Cabinet would also launch consultations with industry groups starting Thursday afternoon.

He noted that the government will continue listening to the private sector to identify areas for improvement.