Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed an amendment bill today to halve the import tariff on Champagne from 20% to 10%, which is the current rate on other types of imported wines. The amendment to the Customs Import Tariff was first introduced in May last year on the grounds that it is an unfair international trade practice. The amendment only applies to sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region of France which may be called “Champagne”.

This represents a breakthrough for the ECCT’s Beverage Alcohol committee. Since 2007, the committee has been advocating an equalisation of tariffs for Champagne on the grounds that, since it is a type of wine, it should be subject to the same tariffs as other types of wine. On the same basis, since 2016, the committee has been advocating that tariffs on all types of sparkling wine as well as cider should be subject to the same 10% tariff. However, since the latest amendment only applies to Champagne and not other types of sparkling wine or cider, it represents only a partial breakthrough for the committee.