Taiwan's and China's delegations to the WTO have held their first round of negotiations on Taipei's plan to impose safeguard measures against towel imports from China, sources said on Thursday.
The talks mark the first between the two sides under the WTO framework since late 2002.
Beijing delegates to the WTO confirmed that the talks were held on Wednesday, and that both sides expressed their respective positions on the issue.
During the negotiations, Chinese representatives made clear to Taiwan that China was opposed to Taiwan's plan to impose safeguard measures against towel imports from China on the basis that they were "discriminatory," but added that China would accept the anti-dumping measures, sources said.
On April 25, Taiwan's WTO delegation officially requested negotiations with China's delegation on the issue and notified the Chinese delegation of Taiwan's plan to impose safeguard import duties based upon the quantity of China-made towels.
According to the plan, the import duties will be NT$42 per kilogram in the first year, NT$32 per kilogram in the second year and NT$20 per kilogram in the third year.
If the measures are adopted, Taiwan will become the seventh WTO member to take safeguard measures against another member state after the US, Peru, India, Canada, Columbia and Turkey.
From June 1, Taiwan has imposed a provisional anti-dumping tax on towel imports from China, with the tax rates registering up to 237.7 percent.
Taiwan sent a Ministry of Finance official to China last week to investigate whether two Chinese towel makers have sold their products to Taiwan at prices far lower than market value, marking Taiwan's first anti-dumping visit to China under the WTO framework.
Meanwhile, the first Taiwan trade policy review (TPR) at the WTO came to an end on Thursday amid thunderous applause from representatives of all member states.
Clemens Boonekamp, director of the WTO's TPR department, said that marking the conclusion of a member economy's trade policy review with such resounding acclaim was unprecedented and extraordinary.
The acclaim symbolized a mutually beneficial scenario for the WTO and the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, Boonekamp said.
Over the two days of the review, the two rivals had more than 30 minutes of direct dialogue in which the two sides showed self-restraint, allowing the session to proceed smoothly.
Knowing the delicacy of cross-strait ties, most WTO members welcome positive and healthy interaction between Taiwan and China under the WTO mechanism.
Japan's representative at the session praised the session as a great success.
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