Taiwan says China's claimed trade barriers should be resolved via WTO

Taipei, Oct. 17 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Thursday that Beijing's claim regarding Taiwan's trade barriers on goods from China is "a lingering historical issue" and should be resolved through World Trade Organization (WTO) mechanisms.

When both sides of the Taiwan Strait joined the WTO in early 2000s, Taiwan already had restrictions on certain products from China, said Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), deputy head and spokesperson of the MAC, Taiwan's top government agency handling cross-strait affairs.

"The issue was not addressed when both sides joined the WTO, so it has been a lingering historical issue since their accession," Liang said at a news conference, noting that the relevant matters are not related to the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), an economic agreement between Taiwan and China.

As it is an historical issue left over from the WTO accession, "we hope that both sides can follow the WTO mechanisms and sit down to negotiate," he added.

Liang's statement was in response to remarks made on Wednesday by China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesperson Chen Binhua (陳斌華), who said the TAO "firmly supports the relevant authorities in considering further measures based on the conclusions of the investigation into Taiwan's trade barriers."

"As for what those measures will be, please stay tuned," Chen added.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Oct. 12 that since the announcement on an investigation into Taiwan's trade barriers on goods from China was published in late 2023, "the Democratic Progressive Party authorities have not taken any concrete steps to lift trade restrictions on the mainland."

The MOC added that the relevant authorities are in consideration to "adopt further measures" based on the investigation.

According to the MOC announcement last December, the ministry determined that Taiwan had banned the import of more than 2,000 products from China as of late November last year, which constitutes a trade barrier to China.

Liang noted that Taiwan has progressively opened its market to certain Chinese products over the years.

Throughout the years, many of the restrictions on Chinese goods have been removed, he said, without providing specific numbers or examples of the items allowed into Taiwan.

Meanwhile, Liang said that Chinese authorities are attempting to pressure Taiwanese businesses in China to continue their manufacturing or investment on the mainland by mentioning possible countermeasures in response to the Taiwanese trade barriers claimed by China.

As foreign and Taiwanese businesses are gradually moving out of China, the Chinese authorities hope to use the potential countermeasures to force Taiwanese companies to continue manufacturing or investing in China, he added.

"Those actions by China may not necessarily have a direct connection with the so-called 'trade barriers,'" Liang added.

China's domestic demand is currently weak due to overproduction and low-price dumping, Liang said, adding that businesses in Taiwan competing with those in the affected sectors in China may also soon face the impact of potential countermeasures.

That includes sectors like petrochemicals, steel, and textiles, Liang noted, adding "China is trying to resolve its own problem of domestic overproduction."