Since Taiwan became an official member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2002, the government has been liberalizing imports of foreign agricultural products to honor its promises made during pre-entry negotiations with WTO members. The government and local farmers have also taken effective countermeasures to cushion possible unfavorable impact of the import liberalization measure.
The new round of WTO talks on agricultural trade is being held in accordance with a set of measures set in July 2004 by WTO member economies and the conclusions reached during a ministerial-level meeting in Hong Kong in December 2005, and is scheduled for completion by the end of July this year.
International agricultural trade is enjoying an increasingly improving environment, and will expand significantly along with the growing global population and economy. If the new round of WTO talks on agricultural trade can lead to further liberalization international agricultural trade will be poised for a rapid growth.
Although Taiwan's agricultural trade has been on the rise, its deficit in such trade has been on the increase, due mainly to high production costs and low scale of economy for most agricultural products in Taiwan. To counter, the government is actively promoting exports of higher-value-added agricultural products such as Phalaenopsis, mongo, and oolong tea.
In addition, in order to safeguard the interests of consumers and protect the common environmental resources, the government should also move to solve problems concerning food sanitation and environmental protection. It is actively introducing a biographic registration system for agricultural products, as now adopted in European Union and Japan. |