TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said it has prepared guidance and additional funds for businesses that would be affected by changes to the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), should China decide to remove more goods’ preferential tax rates ahead of the election.

On Tuesday (Jan. 9) a spokesperson for China’s commerce ministry said that it may further remove preferential tax rates on some goods imported from Taiwan to China because the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had failed to remove trade barriers for Chinese goods. Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) called the action “obvious political manipulation,” per CNA.

Deputy Minister Chen Cheng-chi (陳正祺) said that ECFA is a mutually beneficial arrangement, and discouraged China from weaponizing cross-strait trade. Chen also said that the government has prepared programs and funds to improve industrial competitiveness, though did not elaborate on what they were.

Hsiao Chen-jung (蕭振榮) of the Cabinet’s trade negotiation office said that trade issues should be handled under World Trade Organization guidelines. Hsiao said that China’s suspension of preferential tariff rates under ECFA beginning Jan. 1 was unfair, and not carried out under the WTO’s framework.