The economics ministry says that efforts to speed up customs clearance on imports from China will not affect food safety checks.
The comments came as the two sides met in Taipei to discuss a trade in goods agreement. The latest round of negotiations, which began on Saturday, will conclude on Monday.
The two sides are working to reduce bilateral customs clearance to within 48 hours. That’s in response to some Taiwanese businesses which had complained about opaque customs procedures and other non-tariff trade measures in China, which have resulted in delays and higher costs.
But some people had raised concerns that focusing on speeding up customs clearance could have an adverse impact on food safety inspections.
Taiwan’s economics ministry responded to those concerns on Sunday saying that food, plant and animal imports requiring inspections would not fall under the speedy customs clearance provisions. Officials said that those types of imports would be regulated using pre-existing food safety measures.