Any lifting of restrictions on high-level economic meetings with Taiwan by the US is contingent on improvements in Taipei's handling of intellectual property rights (IPR), Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) said yesterday.
Chien confirmed that the US had imposed restrictions on high-level economic meetings with Taipei in light of what Washington saw as inadequate progress on several thorny trade issues.
These issues include IPR protection, a new rice import regime as well as pharmaceutical imports.
Despite the government's efforts through legal amendments and enforcement to crack down on piracy, there's a gap between Washington's expectations and Taipei's efforts, Chien said.
"The US believes that we have not done enough," he said.
The US has expressed its dissatisfaction with Taiwan for what it sees as inadequate IPR protection, which it believes jeopardizes its business interests, Chien said.
Washington's frustrations were not directed at any individual in the government, he said, but were rather a sign of dissatisfaction with the outcome of the nation's efforts to improve IPR protection
"The US said it would be ideal to talk about the restoration of these visits only after some concrete results are in place," Chien said.
Various government agencies, such as the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, have a clear grasp of these thorny trade issues and are working toward solutions, Chien said.
A spokesman for the US State Department confirmed that the George W. Bush administration has imposed certain "conditional" restrictions on senior-level economic meetings with Taiwanese officials.
"We have conveyed to the Taiwan authorities that we will evaluate requests for senior-level economic meetings in light of both sides' need for progress on issues of concern," the US official was quoted as saying.
Taiwan is on Washington's Special 301 priority watch list again this year in light of what the US sees as the country's poor record on IPR protection.
The US official would not describe the US action as a ban on bilateral meetings, and did not elaborate on the level or the number of meetings affected by the decision.
Government sources have said the US assistant secretary of commerce and officials above that level have suspended their visits to Taiwan.
Three high-ranking US trade officials visited the country last year.
William Lash, assistant secretary of commerce for market access and compliance, visited Taipei in January last year, while Grant Aldonas, under secretary of commerce for international trade administration, came to Taipei that April. Joseph Papovich, assistant US trade representative, visited Taipei in October.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
RSS