BY BUSINESS EDITOR
MBABANE – The Republic of China in Taiwan has passed amendments to a bill that will allow the importation of 46 more different items from Eswatini, including nuts and dried fruits, into Taiwan tariff-free.
The amendment follows another which was passed in October 2023 where 23 another amendment bill was passed.
The Taiwan government on November 21 first approved the amendments to the Customs Import Tariff proposed by the Ministry of Finance, and the Taiwan government Finance Committee completed its review in December 2023.
Under the bill’s provisions, the tariff waiver will take effect 30 days after the two countries have completed their respective internal legal procedures.
The passage of the amendments was part of a commitment to enhance bilateral trade and ties made by Taiwan under an Economic Cooperation Agreement it signed with Eswatini in December 2018.
At a recent legislative committee hearing, Taiwan’s Finance Minister Chuang Tsui-yun said the 46 products from Eswatini that will receive tariff-free treatment include nuts, dried fruits, molasses, brewed drinks, dried onions, vegetable juices, and textile and garments.
In a report recently presented to the Taiwan Finance Committee, the Ministry of Agriculture, which worked with the MOF in preparing the amendments, assured Taiwan that the tariff waiver would not have a negative impact on Taiwan’s agricultural sector.
According to the latest statistics published in November by the International Trade Administration, bilateral trade between Taiwan and Eswatini totaled US$16.16 million in 2022, a decrease of 9 percent from US$17.96 million in 2021.
Eswatini’s main exports to Taiwan include ethyl alcohol, sauces, grapefruit, machinery parts, cotton yarn, and metal jewellery, while Taiwan’s main exports to Eswatini consist of rice, printing machinery, filament yarn, dyeing machines, slide fasteners, and garments.
Eswatini is currently Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa.
