This weekend, Taiwan’s premier Su Tseng-chang accused China of violating international trade rules and discriminating against the island after it halted more Taiwanese imports. According to Taiwan’s Finance Ministry, Chinese customs authorities unexpectedly suspended imports of certain alcoholic beverages from the island on Friday.
It said the move was related to a regulation Beijing imposed on January 1 that requires all food and alcoholic beverage exporters to the mainland to be registered with Chinese customs. Some Taiwanese companies had still been under review.
Premier Su Tseng-chang accused Beijing of violating World Trade Organization norms by ‘making its own rules’ and ‘meddling in trade through administrative means’. Taiwan plans to appeal to the WTO and will assist the affected businesses, he added.
China slapped fresh bans on certain fruit and fish imports in retaliation for US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August, which prompted a furious response from Beijing. A year earlier, pineapple imports were halted after Chinese authorities claimed to have discovered pests in shipments, just as the annual harvest was under way.
Source: thaipbsworld.com