Beijing’s ban on Taiwanese grouper imports prompts emergency measures to help island’s fish farmers

Name: Taiwan negotiator appeals to US to not forget Taipei’s free trade deal hopes
Uploaded: 2022-06-13T09:08:03.000Z
Duration: 2 min 9 s
Description: Taiwan negotiator appeals to US to not forget Taipei’s free trade deal hopes

Beijing cites discovery of banned chemicals and excessive oxytetracycline when announcing suspension of imports of Taiwan’s grouper effective from Monday

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen says Beijing’s move is a breach of normal trade practices, and the island will not rule out going to the WTO

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Taiwan’s authorities say Beijing’s ban on grouper imports from the island is politically motivated to ramp up pressure on Taiwan. Photo: Shutterstock

Lawrence Chung

Published: 5:08pm, 13 Jun 2022Updated: 6:03pm, 13 Jun 2022

Taiwan has jump-started contingency measures to try to help cushion its farmers from the impact of Beijing’s ban on Taiwanese grouper imports as relations deteriorate further across the Taiwan Strait.

Beijing announced on Friday it would suspend imports of grouper fish – a high-value aquaculture product in Taiwan – from the island effective from Monday.

Citing the discovery of banned chemicals and excessive levels of oxytetracycline in the fish imported from Taiwan since December, China’s General Administration of Customs said the suspension was necessary to “prevent risks and protect the health and lives of consumers” on the mainland.

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Taiwan negotiator appeals to US to not forget Taipei’s free trade deal hopes

The island’s authorities cried foul, saying the ban was politically motivated to ramp up pressure on Taiwan, akin to its actions last year when Beijing suspended imports of pineapple and other kinds of fruit.

“China once again made an abrupt announcement to unilaterally suspend grouper imports from Taiwan, yet another violation of international trade rules, which would not help normal trade activities across the strait and would serve only to hurt bilateral relations,” Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said in a post on Facebook at the weekend.

She condemned Beijing for deliberately targeting the island’s aquaculture industry because the suspension was not in line with normal international practice of returning or destroying the shipment in question, followed by talks between the trading partners.

She said that after Beijing said three samples contained illegal residue last year, Taiwan provided scientific evidence that the imported fish all met international standards but mainland authorities did not respond.