Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford says Taiwan could try to reach an agreement with China on setting caps on the amount of certain products that can be imported tariff-free.
Speaking before the legislature’s finance committee on Wednesday, Chang said China’s output is far greater than Taiwan's. He said that allowing Chinese goods unrestricted into Taiwan could therefore have a serious impact on Taiwanese industry. The impact on Taiwan’s panel, petroleum, and automobile industries could be especially severe.
Chang told the committee that Taiwan could try to reach an agreement with China on the percentage of Chinese exports that can be imported tariff-free into Taiwan. Negotiations would likely take place during detailed talks on a proposed cross-strait trade in goods agreement scheduled for the end of the year.
Negotiations to set a cap on tariff-free Chinese goods are not unprecedented. Taiwan and China have previously discussed capping the percentage of cars that one side can export tariff-free to the other at 25%. But differences of opinion have meant that the cap was never put in place.