《TAIPEI TIMES》US exempts 2,231 Taiwanese products from new tariffs

Workers inspect orchids before export to the US at Charming Agriculture in Houbi Distict in Tainan on Aug. 5 last year. Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP

TAIWAN POSITIVE: The exempted products list, which includes many items critical to Taiwan’s economy, appeared to have been selected for the nation’s benefit, a group said

By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer Taiwan obtained US tariff exemptions for 2,231 products after Washington on Thursday declared a new round of excise taxes on 60 trade partners, officials said on Friday.

The new tariffs imposed on countries that allegedly engage in forced labor were authorized under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974.

The measures were met with protests from Europe, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand, saying the labor allegations were baseless.

Taiwan achieved most-favored-nation status, so it had the lowest tariff rates among the four groups in the US sanctions regime, pays a non-cumulative 10 percent tariff and obtained exemptions for thousands of products, the Executive Yuan’s Taiwan-US Economic and Trade Working Group said.

The nation’s tariffs are lower than the 12.5 percent tariffs on Japan, South Korea and Switzerland, and the 12.5 percent and 10 percent cumulative tariffs on some other countries, it said.

That gives Taiwan an advantage over East Asian competitors, it added.

The 1,735 tariff-exempt products negotiated under the Taiwan-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade framework were among the new exempted products, showing that Taiwanese negotiators delivered results, the group said.

Wireless navigation equipment, communication devices, components for lithium batteries used in uncrewed aerial vehicles, medicines, fertilizers and light oil derivatives are among the exempted products, it said.

Exotic flowers including moth orchids and painters’ palettes, tea, coffee, tapioca starch, mangoes, guavas, pineapples, juice, jam and pineapple cakes are also exempted, it added.

The US’ list of exempted products — which has 118 items, many of them critical parts of the Taiwanese economy — appeared to have been selected for the nation’s benefit, the group said.

Taiwan has an opportunity to expand its foothold in the US market, it added.

The US is yet to complete its Section 301 investigation into structural excess capacity in manufacturing, it said.

Taiwanese trade officials continue to liaise with their US counterparts to ensure that Taiwan’s most-favored-nation status would be maintained should the probe trigger more tariffs, the group said.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said that to expand Taiwan’s tariff advantages over its competitors, the government is supporting industries in expanding export sales, increasing investments and securing overseas orders to scale up investment and production with a NT$46 billion （US$1.42 billion） resilience special budget.

It said it would work with the Ministry of Labor to establish a mechanism to prevent goods produced through forced labor from entering the market.

The economic ministry also vowed to collaborate with the US to promote and enforce the initiative, aligning with international trade trends that require supply chains to respect human rights.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES