Taiwan on Monday signed an agreement with France on cooperation in fighting against hardcore cartels and maintaining fair trade practices in the increasingly competitive global market.
Marie-Dominique Hagelsteen, chairwoman of France's Counseil de la Concurrence (Council of Competition), traveled to Taipei to sign the agreement with her Taiwan counterpart, Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Hwang Tzong-leh (
It was the first cooperative accord in the realm of competition law that Taiwan has signed with a European country and the fourth of its kind Taiwan has signed with any other country. Taiwan has signed bilateral competition law cooperative pacts with Australia and New Zealand and a similar three-way pact with Australia and New Zealand.
Hailing the pact as a major breakthrough in Taiwan-French cooperation, Hwang said the agreement will help boost bilateral trade and economic cooperation in the years ahead.
Hwang further said the commission hopes to sign similar accords with other major countries around the world, particularly other EU member states.
According to Hwang, the commission originally hoped to sign the pact with France in the name of the nation's official title -- the Republic of China.
However, as Paris recognizes Beijing and does not maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei, the French authorities preferred Taiwan to use the designation "Taipei." After difficult negotiations, Hwang said, France finally agreed to the proposal that the ROC sign the pact in the name of "Taiwan."
Hwang said the French compromise is significant, given the fact that it is an official cooperative agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two countries can exchange classified documents to facilitate investigations into cross-border hardcore cartels and other unfair or anti-competitive trade practices.
A cartel is an agreement between two or more companies intended to fix prices, limit or prevent supply, limit or prevent production, divide markets or customers, or rig bids.
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