| 中国在2006年WTO对中国台北贸易政策审议项下提交的问题单（英文稿） |
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| 2006-06-23 09:22 文章来源：商务部 世贸司 | | 文章类型：原创 内容分类：新闻 |
WTO Trade Policy Review of Chinese Taipei Questions from China
I. Economic Environment
(4) Developments in Trade
Question 1: (Chinese Taipei Report p. 3 para.10)
Chinese Taipei Report states：“Fluctuations in the domestic economy are inevitably linked to developments in external trade. In 2001, when the economy registered a negative growth rate of -2.2%, its exports and imports both contracted, by -16.9% and -23.3% respectively. Conversely, when the economy re-gained its growth momentum in 2004 and achieved a growth rate of 6.1%, this was due mainly to a strong rebound in exports, with the annual growth rate reaching as high as +21.1%.”
Considering the influence of the economy on foreign trade, has Chinese Taipei adopted trade affecting measures to deal with economic fluctuations? What specific measures has it taken?
Question 2: (Secretariat Report p.8 para.26 & Chinese Taipei Report p. 3 para.10)
The Secretariat Report states：“Cross-strait flows of goods amounted to US$34 billion from Chinese Taipei and US$17 billion to Chinese Taipei in 2004.” Also according to Table AI.3 in the Secretariat Report，the share of the export of Chinese Taipei across the Strait in its total export has increased from 3.9% to 19.6% during the period from 2001 to 2004.
Chinese Taipei states in its Report：“Its imports have recently been growing at a much higher rate (31.8%) than exports, leading to a contraction of the trade surplus from US$ 22.1 billion in 2002 to US$ 13.6 billion in 2004. In 2005, as the world economy slowed, so too did growth in its exports and imports, to 8.8% and 8.2% respectively. ”
1. Despite the slowing export growth and declining trade surplus, Chinese Taipei is enjoying a wider trade surplus with China, which leads to the increasingly severe trade imbalance across the strait. Please explain the reasons behind such a massive trade surplus of Chinese Taipei vis-à-vis China.
2. What plans and specific measures will Chinese Taipei take to balance the trade across the strait?
II. Trade Policy Regime: Framework and Objectives
(3) Trade Policy Objectives
Question 3: (Secretariat Report p.17 para.12)
The Secretariat Report states：“On regional and bilateral relations, Chinese Taipei aims to: enter into negotiations for free trade agreements with its trading partners; …”
Apart from those covered in the Report, with which Members is Chinese Taipei negotiating or planning to negotiate on FTAs?
(6) Investment Regime
Question 4: (Secretariat Report Summary Observations para.9, p.11 para.29, p.23 para.34)
The Secretariat Report states：“As regards cross-strait direct investment, little inbound investment has been allowed, and outbound investment, if not prohibited, requires the approval of the relevant Chinese Taipei authorities. ”
The Secretariat Report also states：“Based on Chinese Taipei's data on direct investment on an approval basis…Outbound cross-strait direct investment amounted to US$6.0 billion in 2005, accounting for about 66% of Chinese Taipei's outbound direct investment. Inbound cross-strait direct investment amounted to US$30,000 in 2005; there was no recorded inbound cross-strait direct investment between 2000 and 2004.” “… to date, only one such investment has been approved.”
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Commerce of China, China made US$ 12 billion direct investment overseas in 2005.
Please confirm the accuracy of the information on China’s investment in Chinese Taipei from 2000 to 2005 as reflected in the Secretariat Report as comprehensive informationm in this regard is not available in China’s statistics. Considering the small size of the symbolic presence of China’s direct investment in Chinese Taipei as indicated by the Secretariat Report, has Chinese Taipei imposed any restrictive measures against direct investment from China?
Question 5: (Secretariat Report p.23 para.34 and Chinese Taipei Report p. 10 para.44)
The Secretariat Report states：“Outbound cross-strait direct investment requires approval from the competent authorities of Chinese Taipei. Outbound cross-strait investments by Chinese Taipei enterprises with paid-up capital of more than NT$80 million are limited to not more than 40% of their net assets. In certain manufacturing, agriculture, services and basic infrastructure construction sectors, Chinese Taipei prohibits outbound cross-strait direct investment; the list of prohibited sectors are reviewed annually by the competent authorities, and decided by the government of the Separate Customs Territory.”
Chinese Taipei states in its Report：”The primary objective of the investment policy is to create a highly liberalized, internationalised, transparent and business-friendly investment environment, which operates in a non-discriminatory manner.”
1. Does outbound investment from businesses in Chinese Taipei to other Members require the same approval? Are the approval procedures for outbound investment from Chinese Taipei implemented in line with the principle of non-discrimination and its relevant accession commitment?
2. Please confirm that Chinese Taipei grants non-discriminatory treatment to investors from all Members including China.
Question 6:
It is understood that Chinese Taipei recently issued relevant policies on further tightening cross-strait economic and trade exchange, including more strict restrictions on its investment to China. It will adopt a three-tier reviewing system in the future for outbound investment to China. For investment to China less than US$ 20 million, the “investment reviewing committee” will conduct a “simple review”; for investment between US$ 20 million to 100 million, the competent authorities will conduct a “specific review”; and major investment over US$ 100 million will be subject to a “policy-level review”.
1. Please provide detailed information of this new system and explain the rationale. Is this system of Chinese Taipei consistent with its declaration on the objective to create a highly liberalized, transparent and business-friendly investment environment as contained in para 44 of its own Report?
2. What influence does Chinese Taipei expect this system to exert on its economy and interests of its business people?
Question 7: (Chinese Taipei Report p. 16 para.77)
Chinese Taipei Report states：“There are specific plans in place to strengthen trade and investment with individual countries.”
What are the criteria used by Chinese Taipei to identify focal markets and to formulate focused and specific trade and investment plans? What are the specific contents of those trade and investment plans?
III. Trade Policies and Practices by Measure
(1) Introduction
Question 8: (Secretariat Report p. 25 para. 3)
The Secretariat Report states：”Additional charges, such as a trade promotion service fee and harbour service dues, are imposed on Chinese Taipei's imports and exports. Harbour-service dues on domestic trade are 60% lower than those for overseas routes.”
Could Chinese Taipei explain the rationale why harbour-service dues on its imports and exports are 60% higher than those on domestic trade?
Question 9: (Secretariat Report p. 25 para. 8 & p.26 para.9)
The Secretariat Report states：”Chinese Taipei has not notified any export subsidies to the WTO.” “Nevertheless, various forms of assistance, including subsidies, are provided for agriculture, fisheries and industrial products and activities.”
Does Chinese Taipei have any specific plan to notify its export subsidies to the WTO?
(2) Measures Directly Affecting Imports
Question 10: (Secretariat Report p.14 para.4 & P.17. para.15; p.40 para.46)
The Secretariat Report states：”According to the authorities, Chinese Taipei’s obligations under the WTO Agreement supersede those under domestic laws or regulations in the event of conflict.” “Chinese Taipei applies its MFN tariffs to all trading partners.” In practice, however, “Chinese Taipei prohibits inbound cross-strait trade involving some 2200 tariff lines (out of its total number of 10922 tariff lines at the HS 10-digit level) in accordance with its laws and regulations”, which are apparently inconsistent with Chinese Taipei’s self-declaration of “WTO Agreements superseding domestic laws and regulations” as stated above.
The Secretariat Report also states：“As at early February 2006, 56 items (0.5% of total tariff lines, HS ten digits) are prohibited from importation into Chinese Taipei (these do not include prohibitions on cross-strait trade concerning some 2,200 tariff lines, which are governed under specific laws and regulations concerning cross-strait trade). These 56 items involve mainly products....that are subject to trade restrictions under international agreements.
1. Please explain the rationale behind the ban on importing 56 items from other Members.
2. Chinese Taipei prohibits the importation of 2,200 tariff lines of products from China, excluding those subject to special accession commitments. Please explain on the conformity between the policy and the universally applied WTO principles and rules as well as Chinese Taipei’s other general accession commitments.
3. What criteria does Chinese Taipei use to decide on and adjust the 2,200 tariff lines subject to import prohibition?
4. Please provide a plan and a timetable on the elimination of these prohibitive measures.
Question 11:
Commercial advertising and promotion activities in the target market are very important for business development and sales.
1. Please clarify whether there are restrictions on enterprises and commodities from China for commercial advertisements and promotion activities in Chinese Taipei. If yes, please provide details and rationale.
2. Does Chinese Taipei impose the same restrictions on enterprises and commodities from other Members in this regard?
(3) Measures Directly Affecting Exports
Question 12: (Secretariat Report p.13 para.32 &p.47 para.72)
The Secretariat Report states：“The authorities consider that the growing importance of cross-strait movement of goods in Chinese Taipei's economy would require further liberalization of cross-strait traffic; such liberalization would contribute to improving the efficiency of Chinese Taipei's economy and its attractiveness to inbound direct investments.” The Secretariat Report also states：“Cross-strait movement of goods can only be undertaken by indirect shipment through a third port, usually Hong Kong, China.”
1. What is the comment of Chinese Taipei on this view reflected in the Secretariat Report?
2. What plans does Chinese Taipei have to address the business community’s concern for direct shipment to facilitate exports? What measures Chinese Taipei will adopt to reduce the high import and export cost caused by the indirect shipment?
Question 13: (Secretariat Report p. 48 para. 76):
The Secretariat Report states: “A special taskforce is established to investigate suspected trade in strategic high-tech goods and to determine their destination and purpose. Destination-specific restrictions apply only to "strategic" high-tech products and products that are regarded by the international community to be supporting terrorism.”
Could Chinese Taipei explain in detail the coverage of ‘strategic’ high-tech products and its negative implications on normal trade between Chinese Taipei and other WTO Members?
Question 14: (Secretariat Report p. 48 para. 80 & p. 53 para. 93):
The Secretariat Report states: “The government provides funding for various import/export associations to promote Chinese Taipei’s exports; group visits overseas, participation in trade shows and trade conferences, training and publication are funded under the budget.”
“In the industrial sector, the government provides subsidized loans for …, product marketing, and for overseas investment and construction projects.”
“According to the authorities, domestic and non-Chinese Taipei enterprises are eligible for these subsidies on an equal basis.”
1. Does Chinese Taipei regard these practices as providing subsidies, even though indirect, to its exports? If not, please explain the rationale.
2. Please give a few examples to show that domestic and non-Chinese Taipei enterprises are eligible for these subsidies on an equal basis.
(4) Measures Affecting Production and Trade
Question 15: (Secretariat Report p. 54 para. 98):
The Secretariat Report states: “Data provided by the authorities indicate that about 25% of domestic standards were harmonized with international ones in 2004.”
Could Chinese Taipei explain the reason for such a low rate of alignment of its domestic standards with the international ones? Does Chinese Taipei have any plan to increase such a rate substantially so that most of its domestic standards that are non-aligned with international ones will be harmonized with the international ones?
Question 16: (Secretariat Report p. 62 para. 133):
The Secretariat Report states: “The number of stores selling pirated musical compact disks declined from 300 to 129.”
Could Chinese Taipei confirm whether this information provided by the Secretariat is correct? What measures does Chinese Taipei plan to take with these stores and prevent new stores as such from being established in the future?
Question 17:
According to our understanding, some Chinese trademarks were registered pre-emptively in Chinese Taipei. Among them there are well-known trademarks such as Tong Ren Tang, Yang Sheng Tang, Jin Hou, Hui Da and Yi Zhi Bi, and registered trademarks of some traditional Chinese brands like Feng Ze Yuan and Fang Shan.
1. What legal procedures does Chinese Taipei have for addressing pre-emptive trademark registrations?
2. Will Chinese Taipei protect China’s famous trademarks and well-known traditional registered trademarks in the patent review period?
3. Does Chinese Taipei have any system on the protection of famous trademarks? If yes, what are the reviewing procedures?
4. Is Chinese Taipei of the view that the above-mentioned practices constitute infringements of the IPRs owned by the enterprises of China? If yes, does Chinese Taipei has any plan to correct these practices?
IV. Trade Policies by Sector
(2) Agriculture
Question 18: (Secretariat Report p. 67 para. 9, p. 68 para. 10 & 15)
Agriculture is the most trade-distorted sector in Chinese Taipei, which enjoys multiplied protection. For instance, “the average applied MFN for agriculture was 22.3% in 2005. Some 7.5% of tariff lines applied to agricultural goods were non-ad valorem. Many agricultural sub-sectors benefit from relatively high level of MFN tariff protection, several of these sub-sectors are also subject to a number of tariff peaks. Tariff rate quotas apply mainly to agricultural products.” Various subsidies are provided for the production of rice, sorghum and feed corn, sweet potatoes, beans, tobacco leaves, certain vegetables, and sugar. Meanwhile, “inbound direct investment in agriculture and fishing is restricted”.
Does Chinese Taipei have any plan or concrete measures to address the protectionist practices in its agricultural sector? Why is inbound direct investment in agriculture and fishing restricted?
(5) Services
Question 19: (Chinese Taipei Report p. 8 para.34)
Chinese Taipei Report states： “Instead of having to obtain permission from the Securities and Futures Bureau of the FSC (previously the Securities and Futures Commission), all foreign investors can now invest in the securities market after simply registering with the Taiwan Stock Exchange Co. (TSEC) and obtaining an investment ID.”
According to the above information, could people take it as granted that Chinese investors will be allowed to invest in securities and futures in Chinese Taipei after registering with the TSEC?
Question 20: (Chinese Taipei Report p. 8 para.36)
Chinese Taipei Report states： “To facilitate the consolidation process and promote foreign investment, market mechanisms will continuously be used to encourage further deregulation of the financial sector.”
1. What plans and timetables does Chinese Taipei have on further liberalizing its financial sector?
2. Are there restrictions for Chinese financial institutions to set up branches in Chinese Taipei? If yes, please provide detailed information. Do those restrictions conform to Chinese Taipei’s WTO accession commitments?
3. What consideration does Chinese Taipei have on the establishment of branches by Chinese financial institutions in Chinese Taipei?
Question 21: (Chinese Taipei Report p. 10 para.46)
Chinese Taipei Report states：“Up to the end of 2005, with the exception of a few sectors involving essential security interests and public health aspects, 99% of the manufacturing industry sector and 95% of the services industry sector had been opened up to foreign investment.”
Please confirm whether Chinese Taipei has opened its market to service providers from all WTO Members on MFN basis.
Question 22:
Are there any restrictions for enterprises from WTO Members including China to hold exhibitions on their own or jointly with local enterprises in Chinese Taipei? If yes, please provide details and rationale. Does Chinese Taipei have any plan to eliminate those restrictions?
Question 23:
The movement of natural persons plays an important role in promoting trade liberalization and commercial investment. According to the statistics from Chinese Taipei, in 2005, then number of people that travelled to Chinese Taipei from China was 170,000 person/time while the number in the other direction was 4.11 million person/time. That shows a serious imbalance of personnel exchange across the strait, which has certainly impeded and will continue to impede the normal cross-strait economic, trade and investment activities.
What is the view of Chinese Taipei on this situation? What specific measures will Chinese Taipei take in the future to promote business personnel exchange across the strait?
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