Taiwan, Japan, the US, the UK, Australia and Canada have asked to join talks about the EU’s complaint to the WTO over China’s economic sanctions against Lithuania, said the global trade agency on Friday.
The EU first brought the case to the WTO on Jan. 27, saying it had a wealth of evidence that China had been economically pressuring Lithuania for allowing a Taiwanese representative office to be established in Vilnius.
Chinese actions against Lithuania include “a refusal to clear Lithuanian goods through customs, rejection of import applications from Lithuania and pressuring EU companies operating out of other EU Member States to remove Lithuanian inputs from their supply chains when exporting to China,” the EU said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
Taiwan and Australia aside, the states are G7 members, with EU members France, Germany and Italy making up the remainder.
“This case is important for most WTO members. The world’s most powerful economies, including all members of the G7, have joined forces against China’s illegal actions that threaten the entire international trading system,” Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis said.
The refusal of customs clearance for goods not only threatens the EU’s domestic and foreign supply chains, but also affects Taiwan’s foreign trade, a source cited the letter as saying.
The WTO said that according to regulations, the first stage of talks must be between the two parties directly involved in the conflict — in this case the EU and China.
If no consensus is reached within 60 days, the talks would enter the second stage, at which time the EU could form a dispute-resolution panel with third parties, it said.
In a statement to the WTO on Friday, the EU said that China’s actions toward Lithuania constitute “discriminatory trade,” and that such actions have already affected the entire EU supply chain.
However, the EU has also said that despite evidence China contravened WTO rules, it would continue to seek a diplomatic solution, because China is an “important partner” of the EU.
Additional reporting by AP
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland
RSS