Politics

ECFA early harvest product origin talks bear fruit

• Publication Date：07/28/2010
• Source： Economic Daily News

The sixth round of talks on origin of product regulations for goods included on the early harvest list of the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement concluded July 27, with the rules for some 95 percent of the 806 listed items finalized.

Gao Rongkun, head of the Department of Duty Collection under mainland China’s General Administration of Customs, arrived in Taiwan June 26 to engage in the product origin negotiations with representatives of Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance.

Under the new rules agreed to so far, exporters will have to prove that the value-added ratio of their products is between 40 percent and 50 percent or higher, depending on the product, in order to receive a certificate of product origin.

For automobile parts and various tool and machine products, for example, the VAR requirement has been set at 50 percent. As for agricultural products, the two sides have agreed that most of the items in this category must be entirely produced and processed in the country of origin in order to receive certification.

Taiwan’s government has been hoping to obtain more lenient rules for small and medium enterprises in less competitive industries, such as the textile sector. However, mainland negotiators have been unwilling to agree to lower VAR requirements for these products so far, and further talks will be required for the two sides to arrive at a consensus.

The MOF said there would not be a single standard set for all the early harvest list items in terms of origin of product regulations, pointing out that two or more requirements will be put in place for some of the more sensitive products on the list.

Under the early harvest lists of the landmark ECFA pact inked in late June, the mainland has agreed to tariff concessions for 539 categories of Taiwan products, while Taiwan has agreed to lower tariffs on 267 categories of mainland products.

The origin of product regulations are aimed at preventing other countries from exploiting the preferential concessions specified in the ECFA by shipping almost-finished products to the mainland or Taiwan for re-export across the strait. (SB)