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BEIJING -- In 2012 the Chinese mainland will implement the second phase of tariff reductions on the goods and services listed in the early harvest program of the cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), a mainland spokesman said Wednesday.
The second phase of tariff reductions, which starts from Jan. 1, 2012, will be the largest degree of decrease and includes most products among imports from Taiwan, Yang Yi, the spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office (SCTAO), said at a regular press briefingH He said tariffs on more than 94 percent of the goods and services listed in the ECFA will be reduced to zero, including metallurgy, medical care, and auto parts as well as instruments and meters, without specifying what types of instruments and meters.
The tariff rate on another 30 items, whose current rate is over 15 percent, will be reduced to five percent, he added.
"Relevant departments in the mainland have made full preparations to ensure the smooth implementation of duty reductions," Yang said. "We have adjusted the import and export tariff and updated the work system."
At the briefing, Yang also expressed China's determination to enhance cross-Strait cooperation on environment protection and sandstorm management.
According to the SCTAO, exports worth 3.45 billion U.S. dollars from Taiwan to the mainland enjoyed a tariff reduction of 102 million U.S. dollars in the first 11 months in 2011, the spokesman said. |
