Video Tutorials・Customs Compliance・2025-04-30・Last updated: 2026-09-02

Products You “Cannot Ship to Taiwan” from Mainland China: Checking the Video's List Item by Item Against the Tariff Schedule

In April 2025, after seeing a flood of comments claiming that various products could be imported, the HowBridge founder made this video listing goods that cannot be imported into Taiwan from mainland China: dried shiitake mushrooms—the most commonly smuggled item—honey, edible bird's nests, tea, cookies and cakes, black wood ear mushrooms, spicy peanuts, fruit juice, wine, animal feed, medicated cosmetics, insecticides, cotton socks, hair dye, meat, electric vehicles and more. He also warned that an unscrupulous logistics provider saying an item is “allowed” does not make it legal, so you need to make your own informed judgment. This article gives you the tool to do that: We entered every item named in the video into a tariff database synchronized with the Customs Administration's tariff schedule and checked its import regulation codes. Most of the claims were correct, but four items need correcting and several require additional qualifications.

Key points in 30 seconds: 1. Whether something can be shipped from mainland China depends on its tariff import regulation codes: MW0 means mainland goods are not permitted for import (agricultural and food products in Chapters 1–24 are genuinely prohibited), MP1 means mainland goods are conditionally permitted, F01/F02 means FDA inspection, B01 means animal or plant quarantine, and C02 means BSMI commodity inspection. 2. The video was correct about dried shiitake mushrooms, dried wood ear mushrooms, green and black tea and some partially fermented tea (pu-erh is allowed), nearly all crispbread, sweet biscuits, waffles, rice crackers and other goods under heading 1905, roasted peanuts and mixed nuts containing peanuts, still wine (but not sparkling wine), longan, honey and royal jelly, pork, beef and chicken, electric motorcycles and electric cars: all are MW0. 3. Items in the video that need correcting: Edible bird's nests are not MW0, but require FDA inspection and, if unprocessed, quarantine; cat and dog food is conditionally permitted under MP1 and requires B01 quarantine; cotton socks are MP1 + M13 and polyester socks are MW0, and both can generally only be imported within the small-quantity exemption conditions (see the sock tariff comparison); and hair dye has no import regulation code. 4. The product name is not enough—you must check the 11-digit tariff code: Of 56 fruit juice tariff codes, 20 are MW0; of 59 insecticide tariff codes, 17 are MW0; dried dates and red dates are not MW0, but prepared nuts containing peanuts are.

Watch full video（Video 2 min 50 sec）｜Follow @shopeeos

A complete guide to products that cannot be imported from China into Taiwan—dried shiitake mushrooms are the most commonly smuggled item #TaiwanShippingLine #HowBridge

• The video's main point: Many products that people think can legally be imported from mainland China actually cannot. The founder rapidly lists dried shiitake mushrooms, honey, edible bird's nests, tea (except pu-erh), bread, cookies and cakes, black wood ear mushrooms, spicy peanuts, red dates stuffed with walnuts, fruit juice, wine, animal feed and pet food, medicated cosmetics, insecticides and pesticides, cotton socks, hair dye, meat, and electric vehicles.
• His warning: Unscrupulous logistics providers will tell you that something is “allowed” and “legal.” Taiwan's laws must be followed by people in Taiwan, but those providers may be beyond their reach, so you need to be able to judge for yourself.
• Our approach in this article: We entered every item listed in the video into the HowBridge tariff database, which is synchronized with the Customs Administration's tariff schedule, and checked each import regulation code individually. Most of the video's claims were correct, but four items need correcting and several require additional qualifications.

Watch the Video First: What HowBridge Says

The video was filmed on April 30, 2025, in response to numerous comments claiming that various products could be imported. In just over two minutes, the founder lists a long series of products that people assume can legally be imported from mainland China into Taiwan but actually cannot, identifying dried shiitake mushrooms as the most commonly smuggled item. He ends with his usual warning: Unscrupulous logistics providers may deliberately mislead you by saying an item is “allowed” and “legal.” Taiwan's laws must be followed by people in Taiwan, but those providers may be beyond their reach, so you need to be able to judge for yourself.

The tool for making that judgment is actually very specific: Every product has an 11-digit tariff code, and each tariff code lists its import regulation codes. We entered every item mentioned in the video into the HowBridge tariff database, which is synchronized with the Customs Administration's tariff schedule, and checked each one individually below in the order presented in the video.

Understand the Codes First：MW0 means mainland goods are not permitted for import (agricultural and food products in Chapters 1–24 are genuinely prohibited; a limited low-value license exemption applies to some industrial goods in Chapters 25–97, as explained at the end of this article); MP1 means mainland goods are conditionally permitted for import; F01/F02 means FDA inspection of food/utensils; B01 means animal or plant quarantine; C02 means BSMI commodity inspection; 465 means an approval document from the competent agricultural authority is required; and 513 means Chinese medicinal materials.

What the Video Got Right: These Products Are Classified as MW0 When Shipped from Mainland China

Our item-by-item checks show that the video was correct about nearly all of the major product categories, and the rules are stricter than many people realize. For example, nearly all mainland Chinese cookies, bread and cakes under heading 1905 are classified as MW0:

Item Listed in the Video	Tariff Code (11 Digits)	Import Regulation Codes	Conclusion
Dried shiitake mushrooms	0712.34.00.00-9	465 F01 MW0	Not permitted—their reputation as the most commonly smuggled item is well deserved
Black wood ear mushrooms (dried wood ear mushrooms)	0712.32.00.00-1	465 F01 MW0	Not permitted; dried snow fungus, lion's mane mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms are subject only to F01 and are permitted
Tea: green tea, black tea and some partially fermented tea	0902.10/0902.30.20/0902.30.90, etc.	465 F01 MW0	Not permitted; pu-erh tea under 0902.30.10 is subject only to F01 and is permitted
Bread, cookies and cakes	14 tariff codes under 1905.10/31/32/40/90, etc.	F01 MW0 (12/14)	Nearly all are prohibited, with exceptions for rice paper and empty medicinal capsules
Spicy peanuts (roasted peanuts)	2008.11.11/12	465 F01 MW0	Not permitted; mixed nuts containing peanuts under 2008.19.41/42 are also MW0
Wine	2204.21/22/29	463 MW0 W01	Still wine made from fresh grapes is not permitted; champagne and sparkling wine under 2204.10 are not MW0
Honey	0409.00.00.00-7	F01 MW0	Not permitted; royal jelly and other bee products are also MW0
Pork, beef and chicken	All tariff codes under 0203/0201/0207	B01 F01 MW0	Not permitted, with additional severe penalties for disease-control violations
Motorcycles, electric scooters and electric vehicles	13 tariff codes under heading 8711	MW0 (12/13)	Not permitted; from 2026-03-10, even the limited low-value license exemption no longer applies

Are Cookies and Cakes Really Prohibited?：That is exactly what the tariff database shows: 12 of the 14 tariff codes under heading 1905 carry MW0—crispbread, gingerbread, sweet biscuits, waffles and wafers, rusks and other toasted products, biscuits for infants and young children, rice crackers, doughnuts and “other goods under heading 1905” are all MW0. In addition, the low-value license exemption available to some industrial goods does not apply to MW0 goods in Chapters 1–24. Cookies and cakes made in mainland China simply cannot be imported; there is no exception merely because they are in small quantities for personal use.

Four Items That Need Correcting: Edible Bird's Nests, Pet Food, Cotton Socks and Hair Dye

The video says these four items are prohibited, but their tariff codes are not MW0. Each faces its own requirements, so the correct conclusion is “conditionally permitted,” not “prohibited”:

1. Edible Bird's Nests: Not MW0, but FDA Inspection Is Required, Along with Quarantine for Unprocessed Products：The import regulation codes for edible bird's nests under 0410.90.10 are B01 F01 for products that have not been further processed, or F01 for other edible bird's nests. They do not carry MW0. In other words, they may legally be imported from mainland China, but food import inspection is required, and unprocessed products must also undergo animal or plant quarantine. Separate inspection-exemption limits apply to imports for personal use. In practice, completing the quarantine process through a personal parcel-forwarding service is difficult, but saying they “cannot be shipped” is inaccurate.
2. Cat and Dog Food: Conditionally Permitted Under MP1, Plus B01 Quarantine：Cat and dog food put up for retail sale under 2309.10 is classified as B01 MP1, meaning mainland goods are conditionally permitted for import and must undergo animal or plant quarantine. Of the 15 tariff codes for other animal feed under heading 2309, 7 are MW0 and 2 are MP1. The video's claim that feed for pigs, cattle and chickens is prohibited is broadly correct, but pet food is “conditionally permitted.” See Importing Pet Food into Taiwan for details.
3. Socks: Cotton Socks Are MP1 + M13, Polyester Socks Are MW0—Both Can Generally Only Use the Small-Quantity Exemption：The video says “cotton is not allowed, synthetic fibers are fine”—both halves are incomplete. Checking the tariff line by line: cotton socks under 6115.95 are MP1 plus the special requirement M13; M13 is limited to textiles that Taiwanese firms commission for processing in mainland China and then resell to markets such as the US and Europe, so ordinary buyers do not qualify; polyester socks under 6115.96.00.10 are MW0: import prohibited; nylon and other synthetic-fiber short socks, wool socks and genuine silk socks have no mainland-China restriction code. However, what people call “silk stockings” (sheer pantyhose) are mostly synthetic-fiber pantyhose of about 60 denier (67 decitex) or less, classified under 6115.21, which is also MW0. Cotton and polyester socks can only be imported within the conditions of the “small-quantity mainland industrial products permit exemption”: the CIF total of mainland goods on the entire import declaration must not exceed NT$32,000, and each model must be within 24 pieces. For the full comparison of all 17 tariff lines, see Socks from China to Taiwan: Tariff Codes and Import Rules.
4. Hair Dye: No Import Regulation Code Under the Tariff Schedule：Hair dye under 3305.90.20, along with setting lotion, hair cream and other products under heading 3305, has no import regulation code in the tariff schedule, so it is not blocked by the International Trade Administration. The video may have conflated it with the FDA's regulation of “medicated cosmetics.” Hair dye is a specific-purpose cosmetic, and products intended for sale in Taiwan must be registered with the FDA, but separate inspection-exemption limits apply to imports for personal use.

Products That Require the 11-Digit Tariff Code: Fruit Juice, Insecticides, Red Dates with Walnuts and Cookware

The video also briefly mentions several categories in which some products are MW0 and others are not. For these, you must identify the full 11-digit tariff code:

Item	Tariff Database Result	How to Determine the Rule
Fruit juice	56 tariff codes under heading 2009: 20 MW0, 3 MP1, with the remainder F01	Check each product based on the type of fruit and whether it is concentrated
Insecticides and pesticides	59 tariff codes under heading 3808: 17 MW0, 11 MP1	Most are also subject to permit requirements from the Ministry of Environment or Ministry of Agriculture; personal shipment is not recommended
Red dates stuffed with walnuts	Dried red dates under 0813.40.31 are classified as 513 F02 H02 (Chinese medicinal materials), not MW0; mixed nuts containing peanuts under 2008.19.41/42 are MW0	Classification depends on the finished product; the product name alone is not enough
Aluminum and iron cookware and tableware	7615.10.90 and 7323.9x are subject to C02 BSMI commodity inspection, not MW0	The video is correct that inspection is required; separate inspection-exemption limits apply to food utensils imported for personal use
Medicated cosmetics and medicated cleaning products	Cosmetics under heading 3304 have no tariff import regulation codes	The regulatory checkpoint is the FDA—registration is required for sale—not the International Trade Administration

Two Different Outcomes for MW0: Chapters 1–24 vs. Chapters 25–97：Although both carry MW0, agricultural and food products in Chapters 1–24, such as mushrooms, tea, cookies and meat, are genuinely prohibited. A limited license exemption is available for some industrial goods in Chapters 25–97 when the landed value is no more than NT$32,000 and there are no more than 24 units of any single item—but complete electric vehicles and their controllers were excluded from this exemption on 2026-03-10. Therefore, both “all MW0 goods are completely prohibited” and “small quantities of MW0 goods are allowed for personal use” are incorrect; the applicable chapter matters. See Not Even One Electric Vehicle May Be Imported.

How to Decide for Yourself: Check the Tariff in Three Steps

The video ends by saying that you need to be able to judge for yourself. The way to do that is to check the tariff schedule instead of relying on what a logistics provider says:

1. Check the 11-Digit Tariff Code and Import Regulations：Enter the product name, including its material and processing method, into the HowBridge Smart Tariff Lookup, then check the import regulation code field. If you see MW0, first identify the tariff chapter; for MP1, review the applicable conditions; and for F01/B01/C02, check the inspection and quarantine requirements.
2. For Food, Also Check FDA Inspection and Quarantine Requirements：Even food without MW0 may still require inspection under F01, quarantine under B01, and compliance with inspection-exemption limits for personal use, such as a daily total below US$1,000 and no more than 6 kilograms. See Can Food Be Shipped to Taiwan?.
3. If You Are Unsure, Do Not Let the Forwarder Decide for You：The video is right: If a provider says an item is “allowed,” you are still the person named on the declaration who faces seizure or a fine. See the complete List of Goods Prohibited or Restricted from Import into Taiwan.

How HowBridge Handles It：The Shenzhen warehouse checks product descriptions when receiving parcels. HowBridge does not accept MW0 agricultural or food products, such as dried shiitake mushrooms, tea, cookies and meat, or industrial goods that are ineligible for the limited low-value license exemption. For products requiring inspection or quarantine, members are reminded of the personal-use limits or directed to use formal customs clearance. A professional forwarding service should show you the tariff classification before you place your order.

FAQ

Can dried shiitake mushrooms really not be shipped from mainland China to Taiwan?

No. The import regulation codes for dried shiitake mushrooms under 0712.34.00.00-9 are 465 F01 MW0. MW0 means mainland goods are not permitted for import, and the limited low-value license exemption does not apply to agricultural and food products in Chapters 1–24. Dried wood ear mushrooms are also MW0. Dried snow fungus, lion's mane mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms are subject only to F01, so they may be imported if they undergo food inspection or meet the inspection-exemption limits for personal use.

Which teas can be shipped from mainland China?

Only pu-erh tea under 0902.30.10 and 0902.40.10 does not carry MW0; it only requires food inspection or compliance with the personal-use inspection exemption. Green tea, black tea and partially fermented tea, including oolong, are all classified as 465 F01 MW0 and cannot be shipped.

Can cookies, cakes and bread from mainland China be shipped to Taiwan?

Nearly all of them are prohibited. Of the 14 tariff codes under heading 1905, 12 carry MW0, including sweet biscuits, waffles and wafers, rusks and other toasted products, rice crackers, doughnuts and “other goods under heading 1905.” The only exceptions are rice paper and empty medicinal capsules.

Aren't edible bird's nests and cat and dog food prohibited from shipment?

Neither is classified as MW0 under the tariff schedule. Edible bird's nests under 0410.90.10 are subject to B01 F01 or F01, meaning food inspection is required and unprocessed products must also undergo quarantine. Cat and dog food under 2309.10 is classified as B01 MP1, meaning mainland goods are conditionally permitted for import and must undergo quarantine. The correct conclusion is “conditionally permitted,” not “prohibited,” although completing quarantine through a personal parcel-forwarding service is difficult.

Which types of socks cannot be shipped?

Both the video and the earlier explanation are incomplete: cotton socks under 6115.95 are MP1 + M13 (ordinary buyers do not qualify for M13), and polyester socks under 6115.96.00.10 are MW0; both can only be imported within the small-quantity exemption conditions (CIF total of mainland goods on the entire declaration not exceeding NT$32,000, each model within 24 pieces). Nylon and other synthetic-fiber short socks, wool socks and genuine silk socks have no restriction code, but synthetic “silk stockings” (sheer pantyhose) of about 60 denier or less are MW0. See the full sock tariff comparison.

Are all wines prohibited?

Still wine made from fresh grapes under 2204.21, 22 and 29 is classified as 463 MW0 W01 and cannot be shipped from mainland China. Champagne and other sparkling wine under 2204.10 do not carry MW0, but alcoholic beverages remain subject to separate tobacco and alcohol administration rules and postal parcel quantity limits.

#Mainland goods not permitted for import #MW0 #Dried shiitake mushrooms #Tea #Cookies #Wine #Pet food #Socks #Tariff lookup #Taiwan shipping line

This article was compiled from checks conducted on 2026-09-02 using the HowBridge tariff database, which is synchronized with the Ministry of Finance Customs Administration's tariff schedule and includes 11-digit tariff subdivisions and import regulation codes, and was cross-checked against the video. The meanings of the import regulation codes are based on rules issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs International Trade Administration, the Ministry of Health and Welfare Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection. Tariff classifications and codes may change following official announcements. Before placing an order, refer to the Customs Administration's tariff lookup and the latest announcements from the relevant authorities. This article is for general reference only and does not constitute customs clearance advice for any individual case.

Do Not Let a Logistics Provider Decide What Is “Allowed”—Check the Tariff First The HowBridge Smart Tariff Lookup is free to use. Enter a product name to see its 11-digit tariff code and import regulation codes such as MW0, MP1, F01, B01 and C02. The Shenzhen warehouse checks product descriptions when receiving parcels and does not accept MW0 agricultural or food products. Other eligible products can be consolidated to reduce shipping costs and accurately declared for worry-free import into Taiwan. Register Free and Get Your Shenzhen Forwarding Warehouse Address

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