Trade ties between Taiwan and the US look set for more trouble after negotiators from both sides disagreed over the implementation of agriculture market opening measures in advance of Taiwan's entry into the WTO.
A delegation of US negotiators told officials at the Board of Foreign Trade (BOFT) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Thursday that import quotas and a restrictive administration system have become barriers hampering the importation of US meat products -- despite an agreement to open up the market.
In 1998, Taiwan opened its meat products market under a trade agreement -- generally referred to as the "down payment" -- with the US that secured US support for Taiwan's entry to the WTO.
But the foreign trade board said in a statement which was released late Thursday night that the agreement was based on the premise that Taiwan would gain entry to the WTO shortly after the pact was signed.
Taiwan's accession -- which hinges upon the entry of China -- has been repeatedly delayed as Beijing has been slow to conclude bilateral trade negotiations with member countries.
Taiwan's accession package on the other hand has long been completed, awaiting only the formal signing of the deal with Hong Kong and China's entry, which is now being held up by persistent disputes between Beijing and WTO authorities over agricultural subsidies.
Indeed, local officials are now predicting entry for both sides won't come until late this year or even early in 2002.
The dispute was foreshadowed on Wednesday when the Council of Agriculture's Animal Industry Department Director Charles Cheng (程中江) told the Central News Agency that Taiwan was forced to make concessions over the past two years "for nothing" because it has not been allowed to join the WTO.
Cheng, who was one of the officials that met with the US negotiators on Thursday, said that he was planning to tell his US counterparts that Taiwan would no longer make the down payments to facilitate WTO entry.
Up until now, Taiwan has abided by the agreement -- which permits the import of 10,000 tonnes of poultry, 5,000 tonnes of pork bellies, and 5,000 tonnes of pork and beef offal annually from the US since July 1998 -- as is evidenced by customs import data, according to statistics revealed by the BOFT.
One year later, Taiwan extended the preferential import to several other countries allowing an additional annual quota of 9,163 tonnes of poultry, 1,160 tonnes of pork belly, and 5,000 tonnes of pork and beef offal to be imported from certain countries other than the US.
Nonetheless, in the statement the foreign trade board said the US believes Taiwan hasn't abided by the agreement and is unwilling to further discuss the issue, which could result in US action under its US Trade Bill.
The local media has speculated that disagreements with US negotiators over opening the livestock and telecoms markets could increase the chances of Taiwan being placed on the US' "super 301 watch list."
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