Taiwan is expected to officially become a full member of the WTO in March next year, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (
"March appears to be a more reasonable estimate while earlier admission cannot be entirely ruled out," according to Chen, who is also Taiwan's chief WTO negotiator.
After having secured the approval of a working panel in Geneva, Taiwan's WTO entry must be ratified at the WTO's ministerial meeting set for Qatar in November and then undergo parliamentary deliberation at home, he said.
Chen said Taiwan is set to reduce the average nominal tariff rate on 1,021 farm products to 12.90 percent after its WTO entry from 20.02 percent currently. "We will also phase out internal protection on such products and remove export subsidies."
At the same time, the average nominal tariff rate on 3,470 industrial items will be slashed to 4.15 percent eventually from the current 6.03 percent, he said.
Under a quota system, the tariffs on imported cars will be reduced from 30 percent in the first year after Taiwan's WTO entry to 17.5 percent in ten years, he said.
Chen said Taiwan's export trade doesn't require much if any adjustment to comply with trading rules after Taiwan attains formal membership as it has long functioned under a market-oriented economy and already largely conforms to international conventions.
Taiwan-made products stand a good chance of becoming even more competitive thanks to wider access to overseas markets and lower costs for raw material imports, he said.
However, an expected increase in farm imports will certainly have an impact on the domestic agricultural sector, he said.
The vice minister said Taiwan's service industry is unlikely to sustain excessive impact as it has been extensively opened to private and foreign participation over the last 10 years.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique