Taiwan is unlikely to allow imports of agricultural products from China as is required under WTO rules without first holding bilateral discussions on technical details, officials said yesterday.
Wang Ming-lai (王明來), director of the Council of Agriculture's International Cooperation Department, said Taiwan's agricultural markets would be open to foreign imports, but they would remain off limits to produce from China.
"Trade with mainland China is different than trade with other countries," Wang said.
"If we don't hold bilateral talks then it will be difficult to begin trade in agricultural goods with China," he said, adding that a final decision on allowing Chinese agricultural imports would be up to the Mainland Affairs Council.
John Deng (鄧振中), vice chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, took a more moderate line, saying that while restrictions on certain Chinese imports could be lifted gradually, talks would speed up the process.
"If the governments can talk to each other on some issues it can smooth the way and increase the pace of liberalization ... making things easier," Deng said.
Getting the two sides to even entertain formal talks is a gargantuan task as Beijing insists that any talks be conducted under the "one China" principle, a precondition Taiwan rejects.
Whether China will be willing to confront Taiwan on any trade issues under the WTO is widely doubted as the two would meet on an equal footing as independent members of the organization.
Issues requiring negotiation include quarantine, food quality, standards and food safety, according to Wang.
This stance violates the basic rules of the WTO which state that every member must extend the same free-trade conditions to all members.
The applications of both China and Taiwan to enter the WTO were approved just over a week ago with formal accession expected later this year and early next year, respectively.
But Wang pointed out, WTO membership offers a significant opportunity to discuss these issues.
"If mainland China thinks we are treating them unfairly they can raise the issue with the WTO. It has a very good dispute resolution mechanism," Wang said.
The WTO dispute resolution system encourages consultation between the concerned governments with mediation by the director general if requested.
If consultations fail -- only 32 out of 203 complaints as of July last year had been settled through consultations -- a panel is formed to evaluate the case and a final decision is made by the Dispute Settlement Body.
This process may take up to a year if no appeals are lodged, with the offending party ordered to either revise its discriminatory practices or face penalties such as compensation or trade sanctions.
Deng said that Taiwan would be more than open to consultations with China over the matter if Beijing requested them.
"We are flexible; we are open. If they request consultation, there is no reason to refuse," Deng said.
Offering an example, Deng said Taiwan is already preparing to gradually ease bans on imports from China in line with the consensus reached at the three-day Economic Development Advisory Conference (經發會) in late August. Only the timing remains uncertain, he said.
"As to which items will be liberalized and in what time frame are still all within inter-agency discussions and what the final result will be is difficult to determine," Deng said.
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