Domestically produced rice wine is not a substitute for imported distilled spirits and the recent price cuts on rice wine do not disadvantage foreign alcoholic beverages, the Ministry of Finance said March 31.
“More than 90 percent of the population in Taiwan uses rice wine only for culinary purposes,” the MOF said.
The ministry made the remarks in response to the latest National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, released a day earlier by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
The U.S. report noted that a “significant tax reduction” on rice wine has “raised concerns for the United States and other trading partners, including the European Union.”
“Steps should be taken,” the report continued, “to ensure that the domestic mijiu rice wine will not compete with, or substitute for, like imported alcoholic beverages, and that imported alcoholic beverages would not be taxed at a higher rate than like domestically produced alcoholic beverages.”
It was the first time the USTR has brought up the issue of Taiwan’s rice wine in its NTE report, a document delivered annually to the U.S. Congress.
“We will keep a close eye on this issue and continue to communicate our stance to the U.S. government,” said Liang Kuo-hsin, deputy minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
On Sept. 16, 2010, Taiwan reduced the price of a bottle of “red label” rice wine to NT$25 (US$0.85) from NT$50, following the Cabinet’s approval of an amendment to the Tobacco and Alcohol Tax Act. The revised law categorized rice wine as a cooking ingredient rather than an alcoholic beverage. (HZW)
Write to Audrey Wang at Audrey@mail.gio.gov.tw