Taiwan to invite top WTO official to visit

Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) Pascal Lamy, director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), will be invited to visit Taiwan in June for the 10th anniversary celebration of the country’s accession to the world regulatory body, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Monday.

To mark the anniversary, the MOEA’s Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) said, it is organizing a series of activities in June that will include international seminars and speeches by trade officials, experts, and business leaders from around the world.

Lamy will be invited to attend the celebrations and if he accepts, he will be the highest WTO official to ever visit Taiwan, the BOFT said.

Since Taiwan joined the WTO on Jan. 1, 2002, the country has globalized and institutionalized its regulations on international trade and made them transparent, BOFT officials said.

Under the WTO framework, Taiwan has also been able to take part in multilateral trade talks and join the efforts of other WTO signatories to map out international trade regulations.

With WTO membership, Taiwan has not only expanded its global trade but has also been able to seek greater economic benefits under the WTO framework, BOFT officials said.

For instance, Taiwan joined Japan and the United States in suing the European Union at the WTO in June 2008, saying the EU’s duties on goods such as computer screens and printers violated the International Technology Agreement (ITA).

Taiwan’s flat panels and other electronic products were allowed to enter the EU tariff-free after Taiwan, Japan and the U.S. won the lawsuit in the summer of 2010, according to BOFT officials.

Source: CNA