The Mainland Affairs Council says China's move to end tariff exemptions on 34
agricultural and aquacultural products from Taiwan is "economic coercion."

Tariffs on a range of fruits and vegetables including pineapples, guavas,
mangoes, pomelos, papayas, starfruit, wax apples,cabbages, cauliflowers,
bitter melons, onions, carrots and lettuce will be reimposed next week.

The council called the move a "weaponization" of trade that harms the
interests of farmers and fishermen on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

It is also expected to lead to resentment among Taiwan's farmers, fishermen
and the general public, and does not contribute to the long-term development
of cross-strait relations.

Agriculture Minister Chen Jun-ji put the value of the exemptions at nearly
1.08-million U-S dollars.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office has blamed what it calls the Lai
administration's "stubborn adherence" to a pro-independence stance for the
move.