Taiwan'S Footwear Industry And Other Vulnerable Industries Will Have A Buffer Period.

Taipei, March 20 (Xinhua) Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs held the first symposium on Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) yesterday. Representatives of many vulnerable industries, including leather, shoemaking, bedding, towels and candy biscuits, were slightly relieved when they heard that Yin Qiming, the Minister of economics, promised to fight for vulnerable industries in the future. The representative of the candy and biscuits guild advocated that the mainland's raw materials for food safety standards should be opened under the promise of the "Agriculture Committee".

The China Times reported that Yin Qiming stressed that it is urgent to sign the ECFA agreement. Next year, South Korea's nine per cent product is zero tariff in the ASEAN, and Taiwan must face it sooner or later, otherwise it will have the effect of trade diversion. However, Yin Qiming stressed that the government will definitely negotiate with consensus and complementary industries in the future, and gradually open up more controversial and sensitive items, but will not open up land labor and more mainland agricultural products to Taiwan.

Liu Zhidong, director general of the comprehensive planning department of the Federation of industry, said that the most urgent part of Taiwan is the petrochemical, plasticized, textile, and linked industrial chain. They will be exporting the mainland China and the ASEAN Association next year, and will face six. 5% to 14. 9% negative tariffs.

Chen Zhaoyang, director general of the Taiwan confectionery and pasta Association, said that many mainland foods, such as noodle biscuits, were banned at the present stage. In the future, if ECFA was signed with the mainland, the government should adopt a gradual policy of "raw materials and finished products" without affecting the livelihood of the farmers, so that the food industry in Taiwan could reduce the finished products. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the industry to compete with the mainland.

Guo Jinchuan, chairman of the footwear association, said that in five years after joining WTO in two, footwear faced with price competition from low priced products from mainland China and other places, resulting in the unemployment of the footwear industry as high as one hundred thousand people. Fortunately, in Taiwan, two years ago, seven years of levying anti dumping duties on mainland shoes, the industry had breathing space.

"But according to the WTO regulations, the anti-dumping duty can only be levied for five years." Guo Jinchuan hopes that the government will negotiate the ECFA process with the mainland. It should have relevant guidance and matching plans for the footwear industry, and do not sacrifice the vulnerable industries in the negotiation process. "Economic minister" Yin Qiming promised that the shoe industry and other vulnerable industries will be placed in the ECFA trade negotiations.

Editor in chief: Xu Qiyun