The government has not received information on whether the US has sought to settle the controversy surrounding US-Taiwan beef trade through the WTO, Weber Shih (施文斌), director-general of the Department of Economic and Trade Affairs, said yesterday.
“Not that I am aware [that the US would bring up the beef issue], but any country can file any issue before a WTO trade policy review of Taiwan begins,” Shih said at a media briefing.
Nor has the US requested a WTO dispute settlement panel on rules imposed by Taiwan that effectively ban imports of US ground beef and some beef products, including beef offal, skulls and eyes, among others, Shih said.
Having said that the rules were inconsistent with the protocol Taiwan signed with the US in October last year, Washington has been urging Taiwan to fully open its market to US beef.
Taiwan will undergo its second review of trade policies by the WTO Trade Policy Review Mechanism since its entry into the WTO in 2002. The review will be held on July 5 to July 7.
Shih said that the government has been collecting questions raised by WTO members regarding Taiwan’s trade and economic policies, adding that issues of concern included the nation’s intellectual property protection measures, the implementation of cross-strait transportation, the newly signed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China, among others.
Among the world’s 20 largest economies in terms of trade volume, Taiwan is subject to the review every four years, with the first being held in June 2006.
Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠) will lead a delegation to attend the review.
WTO Secretariat officials visited Taiwan in late January and late February to study economic and trade developments in Taiwan, as well as related policies and measures. The WTO Secretariat’s Trade Policy Review report on Taiwan was produced on May 31, but it is still under a press embargo until Monday.
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