COA: China's halt of Taiwanese grouper violates trade rules

Published 2022년 6월 11일

Tridge summary

China's decision to suspend imports of grouper from Taiwan, effective June 13, has been criticized by Taiwan's Council of Agriculture (COA) as a violation of international trade rules. The COA believes China should have returned or destroyed problematic shipments instead of imposing a general ban. The COA plans to present more scientific evidence to China and may also bring the issue to the World Trade Organization's Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Committee if China does not provide an explanation for the suspension. The COA will help grouper farmers affected by the ban to sell their product in other markets. In 2021, China's share of Taiwan's grouper exports fell to 91%, down from over 10,000 metric tons to 6,000 metric tons, but remained a significant market.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Taipei, June 11 (CNA) China's decision to suspend imports of grouper from Taiwan has violated international trade rules, and Taiwan may raise the issue at the World Trade Organization (WTO), Council of Agriculture (COA) chief Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said Saturday. On Friday, China's General Administration of Customs announced without warning it would suspend grouper imports from Taiwan starting June 13, citing several findings of prohibited chemicals and excessive levels of oxytetracycline in grouper imports since last December, Chen said. He argued that China's move did not comply with international trade rules because when an issue like this occurs, the standard procedure is to return or destroy the problematic shipments instead of making them a general case. China has reacted in similar fashion in the past when it discovered problems with agricultural imports, including the suspension of Thai longan and the banning of imports of pineapples, wax apples and sugar apples from Taiwan ...

Source: Focustaiwan