Taiwan's premier on Sunday 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 "suddenly 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 (WTO) norms by "making its own rules" and "meddling in trade through administrative means".

China "is especially tough on Taiwan and especially discriminates against Taiwan... They've asked Taiwan to do this and do that," he told reporters on Sunday.

Taiwan plans to appeal to the WTO and will assist the affected businesses, he added.

Beijing claims self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be taken one day, by force if necessary.

It has ramped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on the island since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, and has previously banned imports of other products from the island as relations deteriorated.

"Heard that the #PRC is banning some products from #Taiwan again, including our beer," Taiwanese foreign minister Joseph Wu tweeted on Sunday, using the hashtag "FreedomBeer".

"Economic coercion of course. But they don't know what they're missing: the great taste of freedom."

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 and a flurry of military drills.

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.

Taiwanese officials said some 2,400 registration applications from food, food processing, fishery and alcohol companies could not be completed. Around 600 applications will be resubmitted, while the rest are expected to be dropped.

Taiwan's semi-official Central News Agency reported 11 out of 28 beer and distillery products registered by Taiwanese exporters had been suspended from Friday, citing Chinese customs.

The affected companies include state-run Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corp.

Shipments of 123 out of 354 other beverage items have also been halted, including those from Taiwanese food giant Uni-President Enterprises, the report said.

Taiwan sold $250 million worth of beverages and $43.4 million dollars in alcoholic products to China last year, official data showed.

Related Links
Taiwan News at SinoDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

US House passes defense bill with billions in Taiwan aid
Washington (AFP) Dec 9, 2022
The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a defense spending bill that includes up to $10 billion in military grant assistance for Taiwan and seeks to expedite arms sales to the island, drawing a rebuke from Beijing. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2023 - which still requires Senate passage and the signature of President Joe Biden to become law - would authorize grant assistance for Taiwan of up to $2 billion per year from 2023 through 2027. The act also authorizes B ... read more