Taipei, 30 April – The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) has announced that it has made progress on 11 of the issues that were raised in its 2014 Position Papers. The announcement follows the chamber's meeting with the National Development Council (NDC) and attended by Taiwan's major government ministries and agencies to discuss the government's official reply to the business issues raised in the papers. The annual meeting brought together around 40 officials from a number of government ministries and agencies to discuss priority issues with co-chairs of the ECCT's industry and support committees. The meeting is the culmination of dozens of bilateral meetings held between the ECCT and various government agencies over the course of the past year. The meeting was formally opened by NDC Minister Kuan Chung-ming and followed by opening remarks from ECCT Chairman Giuseppe Izzo. The rest of the meeting was chaired by NDC Deputy Minister Chen Chien-liang. During the meeting, delegates were given an update on the Free Economic Pilot Zones (FEPZs), which was followed by a discussion of unresolved issues between ECCT committee and government representatives.

In his opening remarks, NDC Minister Kuan Chung-ming welcomed the ECCT delegation and thanked the chamber for its support over many years and for making recommendations on policies to improve Taiwan's regulatory environment. The minister said that the government's goal is to move further towards opening up its economy and harmonizing its regulatory environment with international standards. Kuan noted that the pace of economic integration in Asia is faster than the rest of the world. This is driving reform in regional economies and Taiwan is actively deregulating in response to this trend. He concluded his opening remarks by saying that the government is determined to continue along its current reform path.

In his opening remarks, ECCT Chairman Giuseppe Izzo thanked Minister Kuan and his colleagues for their diligent work and welcomed the opportunity to exchange views on how to improve the business environment in Taiwan for the benefit of ECCT members as well as the Taiwan economy and society. He reiterated the main theme and issues raised in the ECCT's 2014 Position Papers, emphasizing the point that the best regulations are sensible measures that protect the health, safety and welfare of people, provide a fair and level playing field for businesses to compete on while also allowing for technological advances and innovation. At the conclusion of the meeting, Izzo said, "The meeting was very friendly and productive. We made progress on several issues and were able to reach a clear understanding with government officials on the core problems that remain unresolved. I believe that, given our excellent relations with the Taiwan government, we will make even more progress on unresolved issues in the months ahead."

During the meeting, a representative from the NDC's Regulatory Reform Center gave delegates a presentation on the latest status and benefits of the planned Free Economic Pilot Zones. The FEPZs are envisioned to be trial zones for a free economy in Taiwan. All kinds of restrictions in the zones will be significantly eased and many incentives, including several tax incentives for companies and their employees, will be offered to those doing business in the zones. The Executive Yuan has submitted a bill governing FEPZs to the Legislative Yuan.

During the meeting, government officials undertook to take action on a number of issues. These included long-standing labelling problems faced by retailers, pension and ID number issues facing foreign residents in Taiwan and tax issues. On issues where progress was not made, government agencies agreed to re-evaluate some of their current positions and arrange follow-up meetings with the ECCT in the weeks ahead.

ECCT committees and issues where progress was made

About the ECCT
With over US$32 billion in direct foreign investments, European business remains the largest group of foreign investors in Taiwan. The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan is the only foreign nationwide business chamber in Taiwan and the principle organisation promoting European business interests in Taiwan. The chamber represents over 800 members from over 300 companies and organisations. Through a network of 28 industry and support committees, the ECCT has been successful in addressing specific concerns and providing concrete recommendations to all levels of government to facilitate improving the business environment. The ECCT annually publishes a series of position papers that comprise issues identified by its committees as hindering the further development of their respective industries and provide recommendations to the government of Taiwan for improvement of the business environment on general issues as well as industry-specific problems. They also serve to keep the European Commission, the European Parliament as well as the governments of individual European Union member states informed about Taiwan's business environment.

Appendix:
Progress on the PRC import ban

The import ban or restrictions on the following items as listed on the priority lists of the Retail & Distribution, Electrical Engineering and Equipment committees' 2014 position papers have been lifted:

Retail & Distribution

Electrical Engineering and Equipment

Healthcare Enhancement