Our country has adopted Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) to limit the quantity of imported goods after our accession to the WTO on 1st January 2002. TRQ is created to meet the dual needs of protecting domestic industries and progressive market liberalization, and has been widely adopted by WTO member countries.

In the TRQ system, the importing country sets a certain quota quantity limit for certain imported goods, and applies a lower tax rate or gives duty-free preferences to goods within the quota; imported goods exceeding the quota quantity applies a general or higher tax rate. Our agricultural TRQs are managed and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, with lots drawn according to the order of application by importers, or through competitive bidding for import rights to the highest bidder.

Among TRQs products that along with the tariff reduction commitments we made upon our accession to the WTO, four agricultural products, including pork belly, chicken, pork offal, and poultry offal, were eliminated in 2005. The government announced the elimination of TRQs for sugar in February of the same year due to domestic spontaneous needs. TRQs for persimmon, mackerel, sardines, and jacks, were eliminated in 2008.

Since 2008, TRQs have been applied to 16 agricultural products, including rice, deer velvet, fresh pears (excluding European pears), bananas, red beans, liquid milk, peanuts, garlic bulbs, dried shiitake, dried day lily, coconuts, betel nuts, pineapples, mangoes, shaddocks, and dried longans.

For industrial products, the TRQs of small cars were eliminated in 2011. By gradually reducing the tariff and eliminating the TRQ, domestic consumers would be able to have a selection of more products with good quality and low cost.