Pan-green legislators on the Legislative Yuan Finance Committee have forced through the first reading of amendments to adjustments to import customs duties on Japanese agricultural and fishery products. In particular, the tariff on grain-based Japanese alcohol including sake will go down from 40 percent to 20 percent.


They're both sake. If the Japanese one is cheaper, of course I would buy the Japanese one.

This shopper says he will always choose Japanese sake over Taiwanese sake if the price difference is negligible, and many consumers agree. On the 30th, the legislative Finance Committee passed the first reading of a bill to lower import tariffs on Japanese agricultural and fishery goods. If passed, the tariff on Japanese sake would be halved from 40 percent to 20 percent. This would have a major impact on the domestic sake market.

(Sales of domestic) sake would probably go down 10 to 20 percent. We estimate huangjiu sales will go down 2-3 percent as well.

The draft also lowers tariffs on Japanese mountain yam from 16 percent to 8 percent; on miso from 30 percent to 15 percent, and on ready-to-eat curry from 15 percent to 7.5 percent. Tariffs on 15 fishery products including shishamo and sea scallops will also be reduced to the tune of NT$200 million less a year in tariff revenues. Pan-blue lawmakers condemned their pan-green counterparts for forcing the draft through.

Japan didn't lower tariffs (on any of our products). I don't know how the Tsai administration is protecting the rights of our farmers.

We want to join the CPTPP so we are adjusting some of the more unreasonable tariff rates. If we made adjustments after we're in, the impact would be much greater -- even greater than now.

Pan-blue lawmakers say the pan-green camp is trying to bribe its way into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Scholars, meanwhile, says this provides no guarantee Taiwan will be accepted into the partnership but it could ease the bilateral tensions that arose after voters voted to uphold the import ban on foods from areas affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster in the last referendum.

This does not guarantee Taiwan will be admitted into the (CPTPP) in any way, shape or form. However, at the very least it may help to restore dialogue between (Japan and Taiwan.)

Kuomintang lawmakers say they will fight to boycott the draft. Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers, meanwhile, say they will try to think up ways to minimize the impact on domestic agricultural products.



民眾表示：「一樣是清酒，如果日本的比較便宜，我當然買日本。」

手拿台、日兩品牌清酒比較，強調如果價差不大，一定會選擇購買日本清酒，這是部份消費者心聲。如今日本農漁產品關稅進口稅則修正案，30號立院財委會、強勢表決過關、初審通過。未來日本清酒關稅，將從40%，直接砍半，降為20%，將衝擊國內清酒市場。

台酒總經理 黃及時表示：「清酒大概會有一成到兩成的衝擊，然後這個黃酒的話呢，我們在估啦，大概也會有2%到3%的衝擊。」

這波日本農漁產品關稅調整，除了穀類酒以外，還包括日本山藥，進口關稅從16%降為8%，味噌30%降為15%，咖哩醬也從15%降為7.5%，另外包括柳葉魚、海扇貝等，15種農漁產關稅稅率，預估每年稅損約2億，引發藍綠立委大戰。

國民黨立委 曾銘宗表示：「日方也沒有給我們任何的，互惠的降稅的措施，我不曉得蔡政府，怎麼去保障農民的權益。」

民進黨立委 余宛如表示：「希望能夠爭取CPTPP嘛！針對幾個比較不合理的稅制，做出那個調適，加入之後才去調，這個衝擊會很大，比現在還要大。」

藍營立委強烈質疑，把降日本關稅，當成加入"跨太平洋夥伴全面進步協定"、CPTPP籌碼，學者分析，雖不保證能否加入，但卻能緩解，"禁止日本福島核食進口公投"過關以來，台日緊張關係。

中經院WTO及RTA中心副執行長 李淳表示：「完全不能保證台灣買到(CPTPP)門票，但至少它可能可以，突破現在這種(台日)，很難對話的僵局。」

日本農漁產品關稅進口稅則修正案，初審通過，國民黨立委強調會杯葛到底，不會輕易放行，而民進黨立委表示，將再評估，讓國內產業衝擊降到最低。