Taiwan's Section 301 tariff rate not final: Cheng

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) The 10 percent tariff rate on certain products in Taiwan -- set to take effect Friday (U.S. time) -- imposed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is not final but will depend on a separate investigation into alleged structural excess capacity and production in Taiwan's manufacturing sector, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said Friday.

The USTR announced in March that it had launched an investigation into excess capacity and production, as well as another probe into whether 60 economies had taken steps to ban imports of goods produced with forced labor, citing Section 301 of the Trade Act.

The probes are intended to determine whether those U.S. trading partners have engaged in acts, policies or practices that are unreasonable or discriminatory and have therefore "burdened" or "restricted" U.S. commerce, the USTR said.

"After the two investigations have been completed, the final tariff rate will be subject to a final determination by the U.S. side," Cheng, who convenes the Cabinet's Taiwan-U.S. Economic and Trade Task Force, said in a statement.

Cheng said the USTR's announcement Thursday (U.S. time) recognized Taiwan's commitment under the Taiwan-U.S. Agreement on Reciprocal Trade to ban imports of goods produced using forced labor.

Taiwan and the European Union were the only two trading partners among the 60 economies to receive a 10 percent tariff rate that was not added to their existing Most Favored Nation tariffs, giving them the most favorable treatment.