Taiwan protests China's suspension of tariff cuts (update)

Taipei, May 31 (CNA) Taiwan's government has criticized China for unilaterally announcing a plan to expand its suspension of preferential tariff rates for Taiwanese imports that had been part of a bilateral trade deal, effective from June 15.

Taiwan "strongly protested and expressed its dissatisfaction with" Beijing's decision to further suspend tariff concessions on 134 Taiwanese products under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), Chiu Chui-Cheng (邱垂正), head of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said at the Legislature on Friday.

Beijing's move is "unilateral" and is not in line with the World Trade Organization's regulations, Chiu said, arguing that it was intended as a "political maneuver" aimed at "exerting pressure on Taiwan."

The announcement made by China's Ministry of Finance earlier Friday will affect a total of 134 items, including base oils for lubricants, racing bicycles and textile products, manufactured in Taiwan.

It came less than two weeks after President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office on May 20. Beijing also launched two days of military exercises around Taiwan and its outlying islands last week.

China previously took aim at preferential tariffs under ECFA in December 2023, when it said it would terminate favorable import duties on 12 Taiwanese products, including propylene, paraxylene, and other petrochemicals, starting 2024.

At that time, China said the measures were a response to Taiwan's ban on the imports of Chinese goods, which it described as a "trade barrier."

In a statement Friday morning, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) attributed Beijing's latest move to Taipei's refusal to adhere to the "1992 consensus."

Lai's administration has "refused to acknowledge the '1992 Consensus,' blatantly spread fallacies to promote Taiwanese independence and separatism, and incited division and economic decoupling across the Taiwan Strait," Chen said, without elaborating.

These actions had "severely undermined the foundation for cross-Taiwan Strait negotiations and the ECFA's implementation," leaving Beijing with no choice but to further suspend tariff concessions, Chen said.

The DPP has never acknowledged the consensus, a tacit understanding reached in 1992 between Taipei and Beijing, arguing that acceptance of the consensus would imply agreement with China's sovereignty claim over Taiwan.

The opposition Kuomintang, on the other hand, has consistently interpreted the consensus as an acknowledgment by both sides that there is only "one China," with each side free to interpret what "China" means, even though Beijing never publicly endorsed this interpretation.

In addition, the Chinese official said the planned suspension was also prompted by Taiwan's ongoing ban on the imports of over 2,500 Chinese goods.

Taiwan's "discriminatory trade restrictions" on Chinese products have violated ECFA's provisions mandating both sides "gradually reduce or eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers on the majority of goods," Chen said.

In a statement issued later on Friday, the MAC -- Taiwan's top government agency handling cross-strait affairs -- called on China to cease its "economic pressure" and "resolve disputes through constructive dialogue [with Taiwan] without imposing political preconditions."

The agency did not comment on Beijing's complaint over Taiwan's ban on Chinese imports.