TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – China said on Wednesday (Sept. 18) it will end tariff exemptions on 34 agricultural and aquacultural products from Taiwan, a move Taipei called "economic coercion.”

China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Spokesperson Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the tariff exemptions brought "tangible benefits” to people in Taiwan in the Chinese market since 2005, per CNA. He cited Taiwan's import control measures and restrictions on Chinese items and blamed President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and his administration for damaging cross-strait economic and trade cooperation. 

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) criticized the announcement, accusing China of "weaponizing trade" and using economic measures as “tools of coercion.”

“It only leads to resentment among Taiwan's farmers, fishers, and the general public,” MAC stated. “It is not conducive to the long-term development of cross-strait relations.” 

Thirty-four products will be subject to import tariffs starting Sept. 25, per CNA. These products include fruits, vegetables, and seafood: coconut, betel nut, pineapple, guava, mango, pomelo, papaya, peach, plum, sugar apple, starfruit, wax apple, jujube, persimmons, loquat, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, luffa, bok choy, bitter melon, onion, carrot, lettuce, taro, wasabi, pomfret, mackerel, hairtail, flatfish, herring, bass, shrimp, and mussels.

Agriculture Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said the annual tariff exemptions on the 34 goods in 2023 were around US$1.08 million (NT$34.5 million). The products predicted to be most affected by the announcement are pineapple, sugar apple, pomelo, and hairtail.

As tensions heighten across the strait, Taiwan and China accuse the other side of imposing discriminatory bans, protectionist tariffs, and other trade barriers for political gain. 

In addition to suspending tariff exemptions, China enacted anti-dumping duties on Taiwanese polycarbonate imports in April. Taiwan extended anti-dumping duties on Chinese toweling products in January.