ECFA Means More Tariff Reductions in 2012

The second phase of the "early harvest" list of import tariff reductions under the economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China, which began on January 1, 2011, will have the effect that tariffs on more than 94% of the listed items will be zero at the beginning of 2012.

It has been confirmed that tariffs will be reduced to zero on a further 437 Taiwanese products, such as bananas, car sunroofs and cotton towels and orchids, in a move that, it is hoped, will produce a significant boost to Taiwan's exports.

Under the ECFA, the early harvest programme for Taiwan's exports to Mainland China is being implemented in three stages and, eventually, will involve a total of 539 Taiwan products. The 437 items included in 2012 are those with original tariffs of up to 15%. A further 30 products, with original tariffs over 15%, will see a reduction to 5% in 2012, and a tariff cancellation in 2013.

On the other hand, from the list of only 267 Chinese products imported into Taiwan that are included in the agreement, a further 186 products with tariffs up to 7.5% will be reduced to zero in 2012, while the remaining 14 items, with original tariffs of over 7.5%, will reduce to 2.5% in 2012 and zero in 2013.

It has been reported that, according to the Chinese State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, Taiwanese exports to the Mainland with a value of USD3.45bn have received a tariff reduction of USD102m in the first 11 months of the ECFA's operation.