The ECCT made progress on 19% of issues raised in its 2016 Position Papers. The results were announced at the launch of the chamber's 2017 Position Papers. At the time of the launch, the following progress had been made:

• Eight issues had been successfully resolved.
• Sufficient progress had been made in nine issues to warrant their exclusion from the 2017 Position Papers.
• Eight issues were partially but not completely resolved and were therefore listed again the 2017 Position Papers.

In addition, 28 issues raised in the 2016 papers were removed at the discretion of ECCT committees. In the 2017 papers, 77 issues from the previous were unresolved and repeated while 57 new issues were raised. Below is a summary of progress made on 2016 Position Paper issues.

The following issues have been resolved following the government's adoption of ECCT recommendations:

Issues resolved since the publication of the 2016 Position Papers

Agro-chemical— Review standards for overseas field trials on chemical performance and residue levels: The Council of Agriculture's (CoA) Taiwan Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substances Research Institute (TACTRI) has devised a set of review standards to ensure consistency in the treatment of foreign test reports on field efficacy and residues.

Automotive—　CO2 emission standards for new vehicles: The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has confirmed that Article 9 of the "Pollutant Emission Standard for Vehicles", which stipulates the standards and management measures for CO2 vehicle emissions, will be abolished by the end of 2016. This follows the committee's proposal for the Bureau of Energy (BoE) and the EPA to adopt a single set of regulations and standards to manage either CO2 emissions or fuel efficiency of vehicles. It will remove legal ambiguity for regulators and make the rules clear for industry players.

Banking—　Expanding the scope of fixed income products in Taiwan - Allowing international banks and financial holding companies to issue perpetual or subordinated notes: The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has agreed to allow foreign banks to issue subordinated notes in Taiwan.

Allowing banks to develop digital banking business: The "Guidelines for Security Measures of Financial Institutions for Electronic Banking Services" has been revised and approved by the Banking Bureau, to allow E-tokens to be regarded as a sufficient security measure when making payments in large amounts as long as risk management requirements can be implemented.

Better Living—　Safety and environment - Pollution: Although pollution remains a concern, Taiwan's standards for particulate matter meet international standards.

Luxury Goods—　Re-exporting CITES products: The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA) has simplified the process for re-exporting CITES products and improved the online application process.

Luxury brand furniture import inspections: The MoEA has allowed small shipments of luxury furniture to be imported without the need for testing and destroying samples.

Retail & Distribution—　Product labelling – Commodity Labelling Law: The Department of Commerce (DoC), under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA) issued an interpretation Ruling Letter on Article 9 of the Commodity Labelling Act stating that general commodities that are non-perishable are to be exempted from the requirement to print the day of manufacture on labels. Only the month and year of manufacture is required.

Although not completely resolved, owing to sufficient progress made, the following issues have not been raised again in this year's papers.

【Issues where sufficient progress has been made since the publication of the 2016 Position Papers】

Automotive—　Environmental issues - Tyre grading and labelling standards: The Bureau of Energy (BoE) has commissioned a feasibility study project on tyre grading and labelling standards. Based on the study, authorities plan to make the inspection of tyres mandatory in future and develop a tyre grading/certification system, taking into consideration noise emissions, wet grip performance and energy efficiency.

Better Living—　Equality of treatment for foreign residents - Dual nationality: The National Immigration Agency has proposed changes to allow certain outstanding foreign nationals to obtain dual-nationality. The issue is not listed in this year's paper pending the government's follow-up action.

Electrical Engineering and Equipment—　Bringing CNS standards in line with IEC standards: The authorities have gradually modified CNS standards to bring them in line with international standards. This issue is not raised this year given the level of progress and recognition that authorities have been moving in the right direction.

Smart cities - Smart grids - Electricity liberalization: Authorities are drafting a new Electricity Act, aimed at separating state-run Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) into entities responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. Should the act be drafted and passed as intended, it would realise the objective of electricity liberalisation.

Smart cities - Smart grids - Advanced metering system for AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure): Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) has already completed the first AMI pilot project. If this effort is accelerated and more AMI systems are installed in Taiwan, it would enhance the efficiency of electricity supply, and ultimately help to achieve energy savings and carbon reduction goals.

Energy & Environment—　Greenhouse gas legislation: The issue has been resolved following the passage of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act in 2015.

Healthcare Enhancement—　Development of long-term healthcare - Development of a long-term care service system: The Long-Term Care Services Act has been passed and the government is currently working on providing sustainable finance for the system.

Insurance—　Consultation and grace period for regulatory changes: Pursuant to an official letter issued by the Executive Yuan, a commentary period of at least 60 days shall be provided by all government agencies for all drafts of laws and regulations. While this represents progress, further recommendations are raised in this year's paper under the heading "Enhancing the supervisory mechanism for FinTech development".

Telecom, Media & Content—　Spectrum allocation - Long-term planning: The Ministry of Transportation and Communications' (MoTC) has decided to share spectrum supply plans on an annual basis. This will provide visibility and transparency and enable industry players to make better long term investment plans.

The following issues were partially resolved over the past year (the government has taken action to resolve certain aspects of the issue but because other aspects remain unresolved, the issue is raised again).

【Partially resolved issues raised again in 2017】

Automotive—　Environmental issues - Encouraging fuel economy and carbon reduction technologies: A subsidy for scrapping or exporting old vehicles (including sedans, light-duty commercial vehicles and motorcycles) has been introduced by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) which took effect on 6 January 2016. While this has had a positive effect on the automotive market and the environment, the committee has set out further recommendations to simplify the administrative process.

EMC testing of individual vehicle components: The Bureau of Standards Metrology and Inspections (BSMI), working with the Electronic Testing Center (ETC) has devised a testing procedure to resolve the difficulties faced by industry players in the testing requirement for individual vehicle components. Some ECCT members have participated in a pilot project trial to test the procedure. The issue is retained in this year's paper pending further progress.

Regulations for classic cars: The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MoTC) has held several meetings to hear opinions from the industry and other agencies on the subject of management measures to license classic cars. The MoTC has drawn on ECCT recommendations in its draft regulations for classic cars, including the definition and method of recognition of classic cars and restrictions on daily use. The issue is retained in this year's paper pending further progress.

Banking—　Allowing customers to use their financial assets under trust structures as collateral (builds on the issue raised in last year's paper under the heading "Further relaxation of regulations on wealth management business"): Banks' clients are now permitted to use their mutual fund assets under trust as collateral to obtain financing from third-party banks. However, treating the third-party bank instead of the trust bank as the financing counterparty creates operational hurdles for the various parties involved.

Better Living—　Equality of treatment for foreign residents - Identity numbers: The National Immigration Agency continues to encourage the acceptance of Alien Resident Certificate/ Alien Permanent Resident Certificate (ARC/APRC) numbers for e-commerce, but a comprehensive solution has not been implemented. The formats of Taiwan national ID cards and Alien Resident Certificates are different. Many websites and other services do not accept the ARC format, thereby denying foreign residents access to a wide range of services. Since, the ARC is a government-issued ID, it should be valid and accepted for all public and private services in the ROC, just as the national ID card is.

Insurance—　Expanding the business scope of e-commerce for the insurance industry: In 2016 the FSC allowed products such as annuity insurance and endowment insurance to be sold online. In the meantime, the Ministry of Interior has introduced and authorised the "Citizen Digital Certificate" as an identity verification measure. While this represents progress, this issue is maintained in the position paper with recommendations for further development to improve customers' experience.

Retail & Distribution—　Transparency and consistency of government policies - Transparency and consistency of regulations and procedures: The Executive Yuan (EY) issued a directive, effective from 1 October 2016, to extend the notice and comment period for all EY drafts of proposed legislation applicable to trade, investment and IPR matters from 14 days to 60 days. However, a reasonable notice period is not always provided before implementation.

Consumer Protection Act: The passage of the Consumer Protection Act into law on 31 December 2015 addresses the issue. The implementation will be monitored and further recommendations will be made if and when necessary.