Taiwan said it would continue talks with the EU following the bloc’s request for dispute settlement consultations regarding the country’s offshore wind policy.
The European Commission’s Directorate General for Trade issued a statement on Friday announcing that the EU has officially requested dispute settlement consultations at the WTO concerning Taiwan’s requirement that wind power developers use a certain percentage of locally manufactured components in their projects.
“In the view of the EU, Taiwan’s local content eligibility and award criteria in energy capacity allocation auctions for offshore wind farms are inconsistent with its WTO commitment to not discriminate against imported goods and services,” the statement said.
Photo: Reuters
The dispute settlement consultations are the first step in WTO dispute settlement proceedings, the statement added.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement that a WTO member can request dispute settlement consultations over the other side’s trade policies following bilateral talks.
The ministry said it has 10 days to reply to the request, per WTO rules.
It did not specify whether it would agree to consultations, only that the ministry would continue to work with the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations, and continue discussions with the EU.
“Our foreign mission has been tasked with discussing concerns over the policy with the EU,” the ministry said.
However, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) had already said that Taiwan would relax its local content criteria for wind farm projects, the ministry added.
The nation’s local content criteria are not trade protectionism, an economic official said, adding that when evaluating Taiwan’s requirements, it was necessary to consider the nation’s geopolitical situation, as national and energy security need to be considered and the “red supply chain” avoided.
The “red supply chain” refers to one featuring Chinese companies.
Other countries such as Japan and Canada had similar regulations when their wind power industry was emerging and adjusted measures as they went along, the official said, adding that Taiwan would likely relax its requirements.
The official said imports would be allowed, following reviews, if developers found that the cost of domestically made products exceeded foreign alternatives by a certain percentage, or if the production capacity of domestic manufacturers was restricted.
“If [the dispute settlement consultations] do not lead to a satisfactory solution within 60 days, the EU can request that the WTO set up a panel to rule on the matter,” the European Commission’s Directorate General for Trade said.
As the EU and Taiwan have a “close and productive relationship,” the bloc said it hopes a mutually satisfactory solution can be found during the consultations.
Unlike most countries, Taiwan cannot use its country’s own name to compete in the Olympic Games or other major international sports events. Instead, it participates under the name “Chinese Taipei,” a name that causes confusion and sparks curiosity among many people, including an American director who explored the topic in his new documentary. Garret Clarke, the director of the 20-minute documentary What’s in a Name? A Chinese Taipei Story, said in an recent media interview said that he was motivated to make the documentary because he finds the name “Chinese Taipei” to be “weird.” The dispute that eventually created the name dates back
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to