Taiwan and the EU agreed on Thursday to jointly address the non-tariff trade barrier issue by establishing working groups on technical barriers to trade (TBT) on both sides.
The bilateral TBT working groups are expected to serve as a platform on which the two sides can discuss mutual recognition and certification of high-tech products and technology, as well as addressing the issue of product specification, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠) said.
The TBT working groups can also work to lay a foundation for facilitating the conclusion of bilateral business, trade and technology agreements between Taiwan and the EU, Lin said on Thursday in Brussels, where he was leading a Taiwanese delegation at the 2010 Taiwan-EU business consultations.
Lin said it is high time for Taiwan and the EU to enhance their bilateral business and investment exchanges, given that the Treaty of Lisbon has recently come into force, which will make the EU’s foreign trade and investment more competitive.
The EU also perceives the increasing importance of developing closer trade relations with East Asia, and that Taiwan is now in a better position to develop trade relations with the EU after the signing of the cross-Taiwan Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), he said.
During the one-day consultations, the EU officials agreed to adopt Taiwan’s suggestion of -establishing an investment ad hoc group and organizing an EU--Taiwan investment seminar next year, Lin said.
Taiwan also suggested that the two sides establish customs affairs cooperation groups to discuss how customs pacts can be forged between the two sides, fortify a crackdown on tax evasion and grant speedy customs clearance services for outstanding companies, Lin said.
The EU officials agreed to consider these suggestions, he added.
Meanwhile, he said, the EU once again expressed concern over the Taiwanese government’s lowering of the tax on rice wine — a local kitchen staple.
The Taiwanese delegates reiterated to the EU officials that the tax on rice wine was lowered because rice wine is a staple ingredient in Taiwanese cooking and is not generally drunk, unlike ordinary wine or liquor.
More than 10 years ago, when Taiwan was bidding to enter the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, later superseded by the WTO, it promised to tax locally produced rice wine at a rate equal to imported spirits such as Scotch whisky.
The tax commitment affected the daily lives of ordinary Taiwanese and triggered smuggling, illegal manufacturing and heavy protests, prompting the legislature in recent years to consider reclassifying rice wine as a cooking ingredient so that it could be taxed at a lower rate.
The lower tax rate was implemented earlier this year.
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