Taiwan Begins Multi-lateral Negotiations on Environmental Goods Agreement with 13 WTO Member Nations

Despite being stalled in signing free trade agreements (FTAs) with trade partners, Taiwan has formally begun multi-lateral negotiations to  strike environmental goods agreements with 13 WTO (World Trade Organization) member nations, announced earlier the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

According to the MOEA, the negotiation is based on the Vladivostok Declaration issued at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) held January 24, 2014, in Vladivostok, Russia, which aims to liberalize tariffs on 54 environmental goods listed in the joint declaration.

In 2012, the 54 environmental goods, including solar energy and wind power, contributed 8-9% to Taiwan's overall exports, also making up about 2% of imports. Other countries who participated in the first round of the multi-lateral negotiations included the U.S., Japan, EU and China among others.

On Taiwan's participation in the negotiations, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, a Taiwanese body, said that an environmental goods agreement is a tariff-cutting mechanism, similar to the ITA (Information Technology Agreement) that the island has joined, to lower taxes and tariffs on the 54 environmental goods in the abovementioned declaration to help enhance Taiwan's exports.

MOEA officials say that the agreement would  benefit Taiwan's domestic enterprises supplying recycling equipment and renewable energy, particularly those from the LED and photovoltaic sectors. Since Taiwan's current tariffs on the 54 environmental goods are largely on par to those in developed countries, the MOEA therefore will focus more on seeking liberalization of manpower diversification and investment during the negotiations. (SC)