China’s imposition of tariffs on certain Taiwanese products on Thursday could affect Taiwan’s domestic employment, according to local industry groups.
China announced that tariff reductions on certain products covered by the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) would be lifted. China previously announced on December 15 that Taiwan had imposed trade barriers on Chinese products which violated the agreement.
Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jeff Liu (劉永健) said on Thursday that the moves by China are blatant examples of election interference through economic coercion.
The Taiwanese industry group known as the Chinese National Federation of Industries said on Thursday that the removal of tariff reductions on the 12 petrochemical products from Taiwan will inevitably impact domestic employment. It says that companies with global operations will increase overseas production, leading to less demand and lower production within the country.
Economic Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花) had previously stated in October that if the ECFA were suspended, the main industries to be affected would be petrochemicals, textiles, and machinery. She said that the government had already begun communicating with domestic industries to assist in transforming and diversifying their market.