He, therefore, requested import relief for the domestic industry by raising the tariff for imported Chinese towels to 50 percent, up from the existing 10.5 percent.
Chinese delegates pointed out that rapid growth of imported Chinese towels is a normal phenomenon following the lifting of import bans by the Taiwanese government after the accession of China and Taiwan to the WTO. Even if Taiwanese towel industry has suffered harm, the Chinese side said, it was not necessarily caused by imported Chinese towels.
They emphasized that the resorting to the special defensive measure is a major aberration from the non-discriminatory principle of the WTO.
The Trade Investigation Committee is scheduled to render its verdict on March 25, determining whether imported Chinese towels have inflicted harm on the domestic towel industry or not. If it upholds the charge, it will formulate import relief measures and conduct another hearing on the proposed measures.
Government Information Office, Republic of China (Taiwan)
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