Subsidies under United States Countervailing Duty Law: The Case of Taiwan

The rapid industrialization of the Republic of China on the island of Taiwan during the past thirty years has been accompanied by the entry of goods made in Taiwan into markets around the world. Indeed, foreign trade has become the backbone of Taiwan\u27s economy and the impetus for its economic growth. Between 1976 and 1984, for example, year-to-year growth rates of imports ranged from 7.4% to 34.0%, while export growth ranged from 14.1% to 53.8%. In its ninth medium-term economic plan, the Council of Economic Planning and Development ( CEPD ) calls for Taiwan\u27s economy to grow by an annual average of 6.5% and exports of merchandise to increase by 8.2% annually from 1986 to 1989. The four-year plan projects merchandise exports of $40.3 billion and imports of$ 30.4 billion by 1989. This Article analyzes Taiwan\u27s government policies affecting production for export and their treatment under United States countervailing duty law. After describing the evolution of Taiwan\u27s trade policy and the present formulation of Taiwan\u27s law and regulation affecting production for export, the Article sets forth the applicable provisions of United States countervailing duty law. Discussion then focuses upon recent countervailing duty proceedings involving Taiwanese products, and concludes with the observation that the Taiwanese government subsidizes its exports minimally, if at all. This observation will refute the recurring argument that Taiwanese export subsidies have contributed to the United States-Taiwan trade deficit

Subsidies under United States Countervailing Duty Law: The Case of Taiwan

The rapid industrialization of the Republic of China on the island of Taiwan during the past thirty years has been accompanied by the entry of goods made in Taiwan into markets around the world. Indeed, foreign trade has become the backbone of Taiwan\u27s economy and the impetus for its economic growth. Between 1976 and 1984, for example, year-to-year growth rates of imports ranged from 7.4% to 34.0%, while export growth ranged from 14.1% to 53.8%. In its ninth medium-term economic plan, the Council of Economic Planning and Development ( CEPD ) calls for Taiwan\u27s economy to grow by an annual average of 6.5% and exports of merchandise to increase by 8.2% annually from 1986 to 1989. The four-year plan projects merchandise exports of $40.3 billion and imports of$ 30.4 billion by 1989. This Article analyzes Taiwan\u27s government policies affecting production for export and their treatment under United States countervailing duty law. After describing the evolution of Taiwan\u27s trade policy and the present formulation of Taiwan\u27s law and regulation affecting production for export, the Article sets forth the applicable provisions of United States countervailing duty law. Discussion then focuses upon recent countervailing duty proceedings involving Taiwanese products, and concludes with the observation that the Taiwanese government subsidizes its exports minimally, if at all. This observation will refute the recurring argument that Taiwanese export subsidies have contributed to the United States-Taiwan trade deficit

Legal and Policy Perspectives on United States Trade Initiatives and Economic Liberalization in the Republic of China

This article examines the legal and policy perspectives of U.S. trade initiatives toward the ROC in the last decade and their impact on economic liberalization in Taiwan. Part I sets forth the basic legal, policy and structural framework of this bilateral trade relationship. Part II is a sectoral retrospect of the major bilateral trade issues dealt with in the last decade. Part III presents an analysis of the\u27 recent efforts of the ROC to liberalize its trading system and economy, the primary issues and prospects of such liberalization, and their causal relations with American trade initiatives toward Taiwan. Part IV concludes with the author\u27s cautious optimism for prosperous U.S.-ROC trade relations in the next decade

Interaction between law and administration in the regulation of foreign investment in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan : an examination of informal sector in Chinese legal development

This study focuses on the interaction between the state law and administrative practice in the regulation of foreign investment in China since the late imperial time. From the incorporation of modern capitalism into China in the mid-nineteenth century, the analysis develops along the changing relationships between the state legal modernization and survival of traditional law during the process of the end of the old order. Following the explanation of the failure of bureaucratic capitalism in the Republican period (1911-49), a discussion on the socialist transformation expelling foreign investment (1949-78) is elaborated. Hence, an overview of the limits of state law in Chinese political economy can be estimated, with some degree of accuracy. After 1949 one party-state was established in the People's Republic of China (the PRC) and Taiwan. This study explains the interaction between the systems of formal law and informal law, and the process of rationalization of legal procedures for the control of foreign investment in both regimes. Then, even after the Cultural Revolution in the PRC and the impact of industrialization in Taiwan, a continuing tension between traditional Confucian ideology and the state in both regimes remains clear in the dual characters of both law and bureaucracy. A close examination of law and administrative practice of foreign investment in the PRC and Taiwan shows that the statutory law has its positive and formal existence with the limited function. The state law has assumed its role in initial attempting to liberalise the economy to foreign investment, which develops the First Wave of the Encouragement of Foreign Investment. However, the major contradictions in the process of liberalisation come out of the administrative and business practices, which require a further opening up the economy and the statutory guarantee. Consequently, the legal mechanism is better equipped in the Second Wave of the Encouragement of Foreign Investment through the rationalisation of both legislation and procedure. Nonetheless, the reaction from both administrative discretions and business practices explores the limits of the state law. This study concludes that the over reliance on informal relationships predates the party-state system in both the PRC and Taiwan, or the party-state structure has not diminished their role but reinforces it

Democratisation and law of Taiwan : with special reference to United States economic pressures

This thesis discusses the impact of the United States' foreign economic policy on the legal and political systems of Taiwan. Its focus is the bilateral negotiations between Taiwan and the United States and the evolution of the legal and political systems on Taiwan. The widely acknowledged economic miracle of Taiwan has been combined, in recent years, with a deliberate attempt to transform the country's political structures in a democratic direction. Paradoxically, Taiwan's move towards democracy has seriously strained Taiwan / United States relations. For many years, the special relations between the two countries were characterised by Taiwan's almost total dependency on the United States both as a market for its products as well as a protector of its territorial integrity. The end of the Cold War, the new role of the People's Republic of China and the globalisation of the international economy have brought this special relation to an end. The changing nature of the relationship between the United States and Taiwan has not, however, brought an end the traditional behaviour of the United States towards Taiwan which was characterised by aggressive unilateralism. This thesis argues that in the changing context of the 1990s as the negotiating agenda between the two countries expand, the aggressive unilateralism of the United States is undermining the process of democratisation and eroding the rule of law on Taiwan. In order to comply with American pressure, the government of Taiwan is forced to resort to authoritarian measures based on the old corporatist framework that the transition to democracy is meant to supersede. Interestingly, the implications of the undemocratic consequences of these pressure do not seem to concern the United States, as short term economic advantage takes precedence over other considerations. For Taiwan, the way out of this vicious circle of external pressure - undemocratic response - external pressure is to diversify its international economic links. The problems and implications of this policy options are discussed in the thesis. The specific policy areas analysed in this thesis are commodity trade, trade in services and intellectual property protection