The Office of Trade Negotiations said on Thursday that Taiwan would join the US and Japan in resolving a tariff dispute with the EU over certain information technology products.
The office said it would request that a panel be set up during the regular meeting of the WTO dispute settlement body after Aug. 11 at the earliest, Chen Chern-chyi, the office’s negotiator of legal affairs and rules, said at a press conference.
Since 2006, the EU has been imposing tariffs between 6 percent and 14 percent on products, such as liquid-crystal-display (LCD) monitors, set-top-boxes and multi-function printers.
However, under the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA), these IT products should enjoy zero-tariff treatment.
“The EU is doing this [imposing 14 percent tariffs] in an attempt to attract Taiwanese LCD firms who wish to avoid high tariffs to set up factories in Eastern Europe and to learn from our experience,” Chen said.
He said the EU has imposed import duties on these IT products as it categorizes them as electrical appliances rather than IT products.
The office aims to put pressure on the EU through the filing of the WTO complaint, in the hope that the EU will compromise, he said.
Indicating that the EU might feel unsettled by the lawsuit, Chen said the EU was said to have considered opening a discussion on whether to exempt more categories of ITA-regulated products after Taiwan registered the complaint.
“The office will be watching out for any possible moves by the EU on the issue,” Chen said. “A lawsuit is just another form of negotiation.”
The office noted that the US and Japan have welcomed Taiwan’s decision to join the lawsuit, as Taiwan is the world’s leading manufacturer of LCD panels.
Taiwan’s annual LCD industry production value has exceeded NT$1 trillion (US$32.79 billion) since 2006 and is likely to generate NT$2 trillion by 2015, official statistics show.
It is estimated that LCD monitors worth around NT$100 billion were exported to the EU last year, and Taiwan’s participation in the lawsuit highlights the significance of the case for the world’s IT industry, Chen said.
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