Taiwan Today

Our subject today takes up matters close to the hearts of some of our distinguished journalistic colleagues, the economic reporters abroad—the subject matter of their own recent reports, especial­ly concerning aspects of economic relations between this country and the United States.

Many of them have recently focused with some intensity on three particular problem areas arising in connection with ROC commerce vis-a-vis the United States, and the world. Though, inevita­bly, there has been some smoke, we hope they will come to agree that it by no means justifies continued cries of fire.

The ROC is aware of the problem areas; it is concerned; it sees its interests served by solving them, and it has acted to do so:

U.S. TRADE BALANCE—The U.S. is the ROC's biggest trading partner; we are its seventh. ROC-U.S. trade volume has increased each year, topping US$13.2 billion in 1982. The Republic of China is intensely aware that the balance in its favor has been sizeable in recent years, and it has and is taking substantial remedial measures in the interests of both countries. Among these is the dis­patch of special ROC procurement mis­sions to make major purchases of U.S. in­dustrial and agricultural products. Since 1978, the ROC has spent US$5.9 billion through such missions, and as this issue was going to press, an eighth mission was on its way. The ROC encourages both government and private sectors here to buy U.S. products, and has stipulated that certain products must be purchased from the United States. Additionally, the ROC has helped the U.S. establish a trade center in Taipei, agreed to long-range supply of U.S. grains, and entered a preferential tariff agreement. These are concrete indications of ROC intent.

PRODUCT PIRATING—The ROC has spared no effort to crack down on industrial counterfeiting. Exports must now be authorized. All trademarked ex­ports must be administratively examined by the Board of Foreign Trade. The patent law and patent provisions in the criminal code have been revised to fur­ther trademark protection. Maximum prison terms for violators have been in­creased to five years, and payment of fines can no longer be substituted for jail sentences. Since 1981, a special task force to deal with counterfeiters has referred 132 such cases to the courts; violators in 56 of the cases have already been subjected to punishment. Our businessmen and manufacturers are not always aware when certain of their pro­ducts infringe on others' design and property rights, and do not necessarily mean to violate the law; nevertheless, all foreign industrialists will be fully protect­ed by our laws provided they legally register their trademarks.

RICE PRICING—ROC rice recently exported at lower prices is old rice that has been in storage for some time; it is not price or quality comparable with new-­crop U.S. rice exports. When U.S. rice suppliers recently charged that our export price was subsidized and thus con­stituted an act of dumping, they added that the ROC sales reduced U.S. rice ex­ports by 11 percent and the average export price by US$57 per metric ton. But not only were we not in the same quality market, but our exports, accounting for only 3 percent of the world market as opposed to 25 percent for the U.S., were insufficient to heavily in­fluence prices. The ROC government has been encouraging rice farmers to switch to other crops since 1981—a reverse stimulation program rather than a subsidized attempt to move into world markets.

ROC action backs up concerned policies for all to see. It is important that this positive motion receive the same space some of the negative reports have enjoyed.

Clearly, this country is already far down the track on a 1980s marathon run to high-technology industrial transforma­tion. It is becoming one of the world's premier industrial and trading nations along the way, in spite of its size. Considering its major goals, the importance to it of the world market-especially the U.S. trade-and its demonstrated actions to assure the equity of its performance, the ROC has earned credibility in these respects.

For the media, this should mean a bit more skepticism of the firey charges that so often emanate from economic­-competitor sources.

For the most cynical observers, the bottom line attaches to— "What's in it (the accusations) for the ROC?" The an­swer—"Nothing at all, considering what we're going for."