Taiwan is warning U.S. companies of an upcoming shift in requirements for seafood imports as it is also dealing with China’s multi-year ban on seafood exports.
The Agriculture Trade Office of Taiwan first started warning U.S.-based organizations like the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute of the upcoming requirements in April. The new requirements, which will be established by the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA), would mean any U.S. company that wants to export fish and fishery products for human consumption to Taiwan must be on a list of approved establishments.
Trade organizations including Food Export U.S.A. and ASMI have been issuing alerts to exporters who ship to Taiwan, warning them that TFDA could implement them soon.
“U.S. exporters who are currently shipping to Taiwan, or intend to, are encouraged to begin the listing process as soon as possible,” Food Export U.S.A. said. “U.S. establishments are eligible for the TFDA list if they are in compliance with applicable FDA requirements for the products intended for export.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, through its Export Listing Module, said it allows U.S. establishments to request to be included on lists like the TFDA-approved exporters list.
NOAA’s Seafood Inspection Program also updated its export requirements for Taiwan, saying that TFDA is now enforcing a list of accepted six-digit harmonized system (HS) codes for import. Only products listed as eligible on that list are available to export to Taiwan.
As Taiwan has begun updating its importation standards, the country is also grappling with export restrictions from China.
Taiwan is calling out China's ban on Taiwanese seafood, fruit, and vegetables as against rules laid out by the World Trade Organization (WTO), according to the Associated Press.
In May 2024, some Taiwanese companies told SeafoodSource they expected China to lift its unofficial ban on Taiwanese products as reports from Focus Taiwan indicated China was warming to the idea. China General Administration of Customs Vice Minister Zhao Zenglian reportedly said the country would implement a partial lifting of its informal ban in April 2024.
However, China has announced a plan to formalize its ban, resulting in Taiwan threatening to ratchet up its objections through the WTO.
In 2022, Taiwan threatened to report a Chinese ban on Taiwanese seafood exports to the WTO after Taiwan-based seafood exporters reported having products denied entry into China. At the time, China claimed those products weren’t in compliance with new labeling laws, which requires food imported to China to have Chinese-language labeling and identifiers and to be registered with the China Import Food Enterprise Registration system.
The restrictions also coincided with a high-profile visit to Taiwan by U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-California, who was, at the time, the speaker of the house for the U.S. Congress.
