Our top story today. The Council of Agriculture has threatened to take China to the World Trade Organization, over China''s ban on imports of Taiwanese wax apples and sugar apples. The ban was announced last Sunday and took effect the same day. Taiwan''s agriculture ministry says it will spend 1 billion NT dollars to help farmers find other buyers. It said that if China does not respond to Taiwan''s request for talks, it will file a complaint with the World Trade Organization.
In the wake of China''s import ban on Taiwanese sugar apples and wax apples, the Japanese internet is abuzz with discussion. One user said, "Sell the fruits to Japan. They are very rare here so they''ll definitely sell well." Another said, "With China doing things like this, if they are let into the CPTPP, it''ll all be over."
Tsai Ing-wen
President
Our government has already protested the decision. China is breaching international trade rules, to unilaterally damage our bilateral trade relations. I''ve told the Council of Agriculture to take measures to protect the interests of the people affected.
President Tsai Ing-wen voiced support for Taiwan''s farmers. The Council of Agriculture says it''s earmarked NT$1 billion to help affected farmers sell their produce. Back in March, China imposed a similar import ban on Taiwanese pineapples. Since then, Taiwan officials have requested technical talks with China on eight occasions, but received no response from across the strait. Following China''s newest import ban, the COA made its ninth request for negotiations. It says that if China does not respond, Taiwan will seek arbitration by the World Trade Organization.
Roy Lee
Taiwan WTO & RTA Center deputy executive director
Of course the Council of Agriculture is concerned about which fruit or agricultural product will be next. It may be even more concerned about whether the next ban will come from a country other than China. So it is seeking arbitration, to send a warning. The COA hopes that by doing this, there won''t be any more victims. It is making Taiwan''s position clear, and that position is, "We will file a complaint against you."
Agriculture council figures show that between 2018 and 2020, Taiwan''s biggest fruit exports to China were pineapples, sugar apples and wax apples. The fourth top export was pomelos, followed by mangos, both of which are no longer in season. No. 6 on the list was citrus fruits, mainly lemons and Murcotts. These could become the next target for an import ban from China.