Taiwan has won a World Trade Organization dispute against the EU over liquid-crystal display flat-screen panel tariffs, the Office of Trade Negotiations under the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Monday. The WTO ruled in favor of joint complainants Taiwan, Japan and the US after nearly two years of tri-party consultations and investigations. The decision is pending ratification by the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body, with the EU able to appeal the verdict 60 days after official notification. “This is the first time that Taiwan, as a WTO member, filed a complaint against unfair trade practices and prevailed,” MOEA Deputy Minister Liang Kuo-hsin said. In August 2008, the three nations filed a complaint claiming the EU was in violation of the WTO's Informational Technology Agreement by assessing tariffs between 6 and 14 percent on a number of IT products, including LCD units over 19 inches. Liang believes the ruling is significant as it will have a far-reaching impact on Taiwan's IT industry. “The decision upholds the spirit of the ITA and reaffirms its binding effect on WTO members,” he said. “If the EU had not been challenged, other countries might have followed suit.” The verdict also stands to help Taiwan's ICT firms take on their South Korean rivals in the EU market. This is critical as Seoul is in the process of finalizing a free trade agreement with the EU that gives the country's ICT companies preferential access. Taiwan shipped some 89,000 LCD displays valued at US$1.16 billion to the EU in 2009. At a tariff of 14 percent, this totaled US$162 million in tax. To avoid this tax, local firms were forced to move part of their production to the EU or ship fewer items with higher-added value to the region, according to Acer Inc. executive Pai Chung-liang. “The firm is now moving production back to Taiwan,” he said, adding that local outfits can readjust their product mix and start supplying more high-end displays to the EU. Meanwhile, Taiwan's industrial and manufacturing output both hit record highs in June, for the fourth straight month, on the back of increased orders for information communication technology and electronics products.
