Taiwan Customs confirms anti-dumping duties on Chinese beer, steel

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) Taiwan's Customs Administration on Wednesday confirmed that beer and certain hot-rolled flat steel products imported from China will continue to be subject to anti-dumping duties, adjusting the rates for specified companies starting the same day.

The agency said imports of beer from Chinese companies will now face duties of 19.13 percent to 51.94 percent and designated hot-rolled flat steel products from 16.10 percent to 20.15 percent.

Provisional duties have been in place since June, but the agency's announcement -- following the conclusion of its investigation into the unfair trading practice -- confirms the factual basis of Chinese dumping in these product categories.

According to the Customs Administration, the anti-dumping duties targeting several Budweiser-affiliated breweries are set at 31.3 percent, down 2.55 percentage points from the provisional rate in June.

A Chinese brewery producing Kirin beer products was assigned a final dumping duty of 19.13 percent, an increase of 6 percentage points, while other beer manufacturers or exporters were given 51.94 percent, down 12.2 percentage points.

For designated hot-rolled flat steel products, three Chinese iron and steel companies received an anti-dumping duty of 16.1 percent, a decrease of 0.8 percentage points, and other manufacturers or exporters remained at 20.15 percent, the agency said.

Customs Administration officials explained that they conducted on-site inspections during the investigation and accepted certain cost items not recognized earlier, while adjusting mismatched data. These changes led to the adjustments announced on Wednesday.

The agency added that it had notified the Ministry of Economic Affairs of its investigation results, with the ministry required to complete the final investigation on whether the dumping harms Taiwan's industry and to evaluate its impact on the national economy within 40 days.

Meanwhile, the Taiwan Brewers Association said the anti-dumping duties would help ease the short-term impact on Taiwan's beer industry.

The association stressed that Taiwanese brewers will not compromise with low-price dumping that violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, saying some importers ignored the investigation rules and imported large amounts before the provisional duties took effect, with imports of Chinese beer increasing 59 percent in May and soaring 110 percent in June compared to a year earlier.

According to the association, Chinese beer accounted for over 70 percent of beer imports to Taiwan and more than 39 percent of Taiwan's overall beer market in the first half of the year, severely impacting domestic and other imported beer markets.

The association emphasized that Chinese beer makers have long received subsidies from the Chinese government and that suppliers of key raw materials such as malt, aluminum cans and glass bottles are also backed by state-owned enterprises or heavy subsidies, distorting market mechanisms.

It also said China continues to ban imports of Taiwan Beer and Taihu Beer and that Chinese brewers often package products under international brands or use Taiwanese local elements to confuse consumers about product origins.