China on Monday announced plans to extend a unilateral investigation into what it calls Taiwan’s trade barriers by three months to Jan. 12 next year, the eve of Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections, showing Beijing’s intention to interfere in the vote.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on April 12, the day that the Democratic Progressive Party nominated Vice President William Lai (賴清德) as its presidential candidate, a probe into Taiwan’s import regulations on 2,455 types of products from China.
On Monday, China said that the probe, which was supposed to be completed this month, would be extended due to “complexities.” The announcement, as is typical for Beijing, was made in a brief statement with few details and no explanation for the decision.
Most of Taiwan’s regulations on imports from China have been in place since 1993 with the promulgation of the Regulations Governing Trade Between the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區貿易許可辦法), which provides access to Chinese goods if they are not deemed a danger to national security and have no major adverse effects on local industries. Since then, Taiwan has approved imports of at least 9,835 Chinese agricultural and industrial products.
The legislation was in place when Taiwan and China joined the WTO in 2002 and 2001 respectively. Taiwan’s ban on some Chinese imports on protectionist and national security grounds was not in breach of WTO rules. Taipei has shown goodwill, never listing China as ineligible for fair tariffs, and has repeatedly called on bilateral negotiations, including on trade issues.
However, China has never followed WTO rules regarding dialogue with Taiwanese officials. Data from the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations show that for the past two decades, China had never expressed concerns, let alone suggesting an investigation was warranted, over trade barriers, not even in its negotiations with Taiwan over the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.
However, China launched its probe, ignoring the lack of mutual negotiations and notification procedures that go against the norms of WTO dispute settlement procedures.
Moreover, it has acted at a critical moment, right before crucial elections in Taiwan, and bolstered it with the deployment by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army of record numbers of warplanes and ships around Taiwan.
The probe is a political tool aimed at applying economic pressure to affect Taiwan’s elections, adding an entry to China’s ploy of combining military and economic coercion to influence Taiwanese voters and benefit pro-China candidates.
Beijing can be expected to ramp up the probe, implementing more sanctions on Taiwanese products or even ending some of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement’s preferential tariffs.
The government and industries should prepare countermeasures for such action.
However, Beijing should have learned that its coercive tactics would prompt Taiwanese to vote contrary to its political aspirations, while its unilateral economic manipulations, which contravene international rules, run the risk of losing Taiwanese and foreign investment, which would do even more damage to its turbulent economy.
As WTO members, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should hold bilateral consultations or initiate multilateral dispute settlement mechanisms to address trade issues in accordance with the world body’s regulations.
President William Lai (賴清德) attended a dinner held by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) when representatives from the group visited Taiwan in October. In a speech at the event, Lai highlighted similarities in the geopolitical challenges faced by Israel and Taiwan, saying that the two countries “stand on the front line against authoritarianism.” Lai noted how Taiwan had “immediately condemned” the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas and had provided humanitarian aid. Lai was heavily criticized from some quarters for standing with AIPAC and Israel. On Nov. 4, the Taipei Times published an opinion article (“Speak out on the
The image was oddly quiet. No speeches, no flags, no dramatic announcements — just a Chinese cargo ship cutting through arctic ice and arriving in Britain in October. The Istanbul Bridge completed a journey that once existed only in theory, shaving weeks off traditional shipping routes. On paper, it was a story about efficiency. In strategic terms, it was about timing. Much like politics, arriving early matters. Especially when the route, the rules and the traffic are still undefined. For years, global politics has trained us to watch the loud moments: warships in the Taiwan Strait, sanctions announced at news conferences, leaders trading
Eighty-seven percent of Taiwan’s energy supply this year came from burning fossil fuels, with more than 47 percent of that from gas-fired power generation. The figures attracted international attention since they were in October published in a Reuters report, which highlighted the fragility and structural challenges of Taiwan’s energy sector, accumulated through long-standing policy choices. The nation’s overreliance on natural gas is proving unstable and inadequate. The rising use of natural gas does not project an image of a Taiwan committed to a green energy transition; rather, it seems that Taiwan is attempting to patch up structural gaps in lieu of
News about expanding security cooperation between Israel and Taiwan, including the visits of Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) in September and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) this month, as well as growing ties in areas such as missile defense and cybersecurity, should not be viewed as isolated events. The emphasis on missile defense, including Taiwan’s newly introduced T-Dome project, is simply the most visible sign of a deeper trend that has been taking shape quietly over the past two to three years. Taipei is seeking to expand security and defense cooperation with Israel, something officials
RSS