Taiwan bedding sector threatens action against customs (Taiwan)

The Taiwan Bedding Industry Alliance has threatened to take action against customs officials for not strictly enforcing the ban on import of bedding products from China.

 

As per the existing rules, China-made quilts are permitted to be imported into Taiwan, but printed bedding textiles, including quilt covers, are banned to protect the local printing and dyeing sector.

 

Huang Kuang-yi, the chief of Taiwan Bedding Industry Alliance, said the customs officials have failed in their duty to prevent China-made printed quilt covers from entering the domestic market.

 

He alleged that some importers are able to bring in quilt covers from China by filling them with some cotton padding and declaring them as quilts or some other item that is allowed to be imported under customs regulations.

 

According to Huang, China-made bedding textiles currently cover 80 percent of the Taiwanese market, which results in a loss of up to NT$ 20 billion to Taiwanese manufacturers, besides giving rise to unemployment.

 

Taiwan’s imports of quilts from Asian countries increased to US$ 20.92 million in 2011 from US$ 16.72 million in 2007, as per the Board of Foreign Trade statistics.