"Any move by either company to influence National's prices or boycott selling to the chain would be considered an anti-competitive trade practice and a breach of Taiwan's fair trade laws," said Lin.
Despite the price cuts, gas stations may soon see any losses erased by lower international prices for oil.
Oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday after a report showed producer group OPEC cheating heavily on output limits and as Iraq continued a diplomatic offensive to avoid a military attack by the US.
Weakness on the US stock markets also undermined confidence among oil traders worried that a slow world economic recovery could further hurt demand for oil. US crude oil prices fell US$1.19, or more than 4 percent, to US$27.79 a barrel for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), dipping below US$28 for the first time in two weeks.
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