Taiwan has not recorded any exports of machine tools to Russia since it updated a list of restricted items in March in line with international export sanctions put in place after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said on Friday.
The list of goods banned for export to Russia was updated on March 8, which added 77 categories of machine tool-related items under the Harmonized System, the internationally standardized code system of global trade, the ministry said in a statement.
With local businesses’ cooperation, Taiwan has not recorded any exports of the sanctioned goods in the category of machine tools, the ministry said.
Photo: Liao Chia-ning, Taipei Times
The ban on machine tool exports to Russia and Belarus has been introduced, because the equipment can be used by the military to manufacture artillery, the ministry said.
The penalty for first-time violations of exporting to Russia and Belarus has been increased by over 15 times to NT$1 million (US$31,281), the ministry said.
The ministry’s statement was in response to a more than 60-page report by UK-based think tank Royal United Services Institute for Defence and open-source intelligence organization Security and the Open Source Centre about Russia’s artillery supply chain.
Published on Oct. 15 and titled Ore to Ordnance: Disrupting Russia’s Artillery Supply Chains, the words “Taiwan” or “Taiwanese” were mentioned 10 times.
One section of the report highlighted China’s role as a re-export hub of sanctioned machine tools manufactured by a coalition of countries that have sanctioned Russia.
The report said that at least 2,113 companies supplied machine tools produced in Western countries to Russia during last year and the first three months of this year.
Among these companies, 26.16 percent were Turkish and 17.5 percent were Chinese.
“The rest of the suppliers originate from Germany (8.50 percent), South Korea (6.75 percent), Taiwan (6.08 percent), Italy (5.92 percent), the UAE (4.63 percent), Lithuania (2.47 percent) and Serbia (2.21 percent),” the report said.
The report also said that Chinese companies accounted for 41 percent of Japanese machine tool products exported to Russia, 26 percent of Taiwanese products and 19 percent of South Korean products.
However, only five of the 36 top Chinese companies supplying Russia with machine tools have been sanctioned by the democratic camp led by the US, the report said.
Chinese subsidiaries of 10 companies from the coalition of democracies are listed in the report because their sales to Russia exceeded US$800,000 during last year and the first three months of this year.
Three of the 10 companies in China were set up by Taiwanese firms, two each by businesses based in South Korea, Germany and the US, and one in Japan, the report said.
Asked for comment, the ministry said it would not comment on individual companies, stating only that 19 meetings have been held with Taiwanese businesses this year to update them on the latest international rules as part of efforts to prevent the sale of sanctioned items to Russia.
The government would adjust sanctions in response to global developments, while working with like-minded countries to quash illegal trade, the ministry said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS