The US was to file a complaint at the WTO yesterday over tariffs the EU imposed on computer monitors, cable converter boxes and printers, people familiar with the case said.
The US Trade Representative’s office plans to say the EU is undermining a decade-old agreement to eliminate duties worldwide on technology products by contending that some new items fall outside the scope of the accord, the people say. Japan is likely to join in the case, one person said.
The dispute concerns the 1996 Information Technology Agreement, which eliminates tariffs on high-tech products among the largest makers and consumers of electronic goods. The accord saves makers of those products US$5 billion a year, said the Consumer Electronics Association, a US industry group.
The initial case will involve three products, all developed after 1996, that the EU contends aren’t covered by the accord.
The EU says flat-panel computer monitors that show videos are TVs, not computer components, and so face 14 percent duties. It also says printers with other capabilities, such as faxing, aren’t the same as devices that print only and therefore face a 6 percent duty. Cable converter boxes with Internet access have also been categorized to face a duty.
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab scheduled a press conference yesterday to make an “announcement on the European Communities and the Information Technology Agreement,” her office said in a notice. Her spokesman, Sean Spicer, declined to comment.
Peter Power, a spokesman for the European Commission in Brussels, declined to comment until the complaint was filed.
The issue has been a long-standing complaint of US high-tech companies and has been picked up by lawmakers. In March last year, Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee urged the US to file a WTO complaint, identifying it as one of the six main barriers to US exports. Schwab threatened to bring a complaint at the WTO during a speech to the CEA’s conference in January.
“If countries can pick and choose which parts of trade agreements they can live up to, it undermines the whole WTO process,” said Michael Maibach, president of the European-American Business Council. “It’s an issue of principle.”
The Japanese trade ministry was considering its options, Kenichiro Koreda, a spokesman at the WTO section of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said by telephone. Filing a complaint is something the ministry has been considering “for some time,” he said, declining to elaborate.
South Korea in May last year began free-trade negotiations with the EU that include lowering tariffs on electronic products made in the country, its foreign ministry said. Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co is the world’s largest TV producer and second-biggest mobile-phone maker.
John Deng (鄧振中), Taiwan’s deputy minister of economic affairs, didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
Under WTO rules, the US has to first file a request for consultations at the Geneva-based organization, and then could ask for a three-judge panel to adjudicate the complaint after 60 days.
US officials are worried about the precedent the technology duties might set, industry groups said.
“This has the potential to unravel the entire agreement,” said E. Sage Chandler, senior director for international trade at the CEA.
The US already has cases pending against the EU over aid its governments have provided Airbus SAS and over restrictions on the sale of genetically modified foods there.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS