FILE PHOTO: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) faces reporters during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., July 29, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo/File Photo
HONG KONG, Aug 2 (Reuters) – China has suspended imports from 35 Taiwanese biscuit and pastry exporters since Monday, in a warning to the self-ruled island ahead of a potential visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported on Tuesday that among the 3,200 Taiwanese companies registered with Chinese customs in the food category, 2,066 entries were listed as “import suspension”.
Among the 107 entries in the biscuit, pastry and bread category, 35 were listed under “import suspension”, according to Reuters calculations based on registration data posted on the website of China’s General Administration of Customs.
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“I found out about the ban before I left work last night,” a business manager at one of the affected Taiwanese food manufacturers told Reuters, adding that he did not know why his company was banned. On the same subject : Current Brief: COVID czar Ashish Jha on the future of the US virus.
“There are food companies that say their products have already been rejected at Chinese customs,” he said, declining to be named.
The suspensions came as China repeatedly warned Pelosi not to go to Taiwan, which it claims as its own, in a visit that Beijing says would run counter to the one-China principle that Washington has pledged to uphold. read more
China’s General Administration of Customs did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
“We have noticed this and are trying to understand more about it,” an employee at pastry maker Kuo Yuan Ye Foods told Reuters.
It is unclear if more suspensions are in the offing, but Taiwan’s biggest exports to China by value are electronics and parts, machinery, plastics and chemicals.
China has already suspended imports of a number of items including grouper fish, pineapples and sugar apples from Taiwan since last year, citing pest concerns, which Taiwan has strongly denied. read more
Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture said it would take relevant measures to help the latest companies affected by the “short-term” suspension, it said in a statement.
In 2021, China’s imports from Taiwan reached a record $189 billion, according to official Taiwanese data.
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Reporting by Meg Shen and the Beijing newsroom;
Editing by Bernadette Baum See the article : Israel’s high-tech funding fell in the first half amid fears of a global recession.
