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Taiwan won't take sides at WTO

Taiwan seems to be seeking neutral ground as agricultural policies divide developed and developing countries into two contending groups ahead of the WTO meeting this week.

"Rather than taking sides with either of the camps, Taiwan hopes to reduce subsidies offered to domestic farmers by 20 percent, as per the agreement made in Uruguay Round of trade talks from 1986 to 1993," said Chou Miao-feng (周妙芳), a senior official at Council of Agriculture.

Taiwan spends about NT$7 billion per year in farm subsidies, Chou said.

Prior to the fifth WTO ministerial conference set for Sept. 10 to Sept. 14 in Cancun, Mexico, developing countries have demanded that rich states cut their agricultural subsidies used to boost their farm exports.

In response, the developed countries, particularly those in the 15-member EU, have called for a reduction of customs duties imposed on agricultural products.

"Judging from the polarized stances taken by these two camps, the upcoming talks on this issue are set to go nowhere," said Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), a researcher at the newly inaugurated WTO Center under the auspices of the Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中經院).

While no significant headway is expected to be made at the five-day meeting, Taiwan is more willing to give in to calls to reduce import tariffs and other non-tariff barriers for non-agricultural goods, said Liu Jung-chuo (劉榮座), director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' economic and trade department.

In addition, the Taiwanese delegation, led by Minister of Economics Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫), is scheduled to announce a measure to drop tariffs on 125 goods from underdeveloped countries, the Cabinet said last week.

The nation will also continue its cash donations to the Doha Global Trust Fund that was set up to help developing countries to build their capacity for WTO negotiations, Liu said. Last year, Taiwan donated US$300,000 to the fund, but Liu refused to reveal the amount to be contributed this year.

Taiwan is planning to conduct bilateral talks with around 20 countries and is attaching great importance to various issues to be discussed during the meeting.

American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Douglas Paal reminded Taiwan to honor its commitments to market liberalization -- especially in the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).

"A key challenge for Taiwan is an effective IPR rights protection," Paal said at the opening of the WTO center yesterday morning. "The issue has serious consequence for our [US-Taiwan] relationship and Taiwan's high-tech sector in the future."

Paal said that Taiwan's future will depend on protecting copyrights because the nation's economy is becoming more knowledge based. He urged the nation to take an active role in the international trade body in terms of transparency, liberalization and openness.
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