AmCham Taipei 2015 White Paper follow-up meetings with various government agencies.
Each year the various AmCham Taipei committees follow up their White Paper entries with calls on the relevant government offices to discuss the current advocacy issues. Over the past several months these meetings have included:
- Environmental Protection Administration, December 22. On behalf of the minister, Chief Secretary Hsieh Yein-Rui met with delegates from the Chemical Manufacturers and Sustainable Development committees. The chemical industry representatives expressed thanks to the EPA for taking the lead in coordinating its new registration system for chemical entities with one being introduced by the Ministry of Labor, thus saving companies from much duplicated effort. The EPA agreed to study the Sustainable Development committee’s suggestion to include additional virgin-fiber paper/tissue products (not just those utilizing recycled paper) under its Green Mark program, provided they come from certified sustainable forests.
- Council of Agriculture, December 26. Deputy Minister Chen Wen-de offered the COA’s assistance if members of the Agro-chemical Committee encounter difficulties launching new products due to problems, as raised in the White Paper, with the crop grouping requirements of the pesticide registration system. Retail Committee representatives also discussed difficulties with the certification process for imported organic foods.
- National Communications Commission, December 30. Chairman Howard Shyr had positive responses for several of the White Paper issues of the Telecom & Media and Technology committees. These included plans to increase spectrum utilization and efficiency, promote the use of Small Cell base stations, and to bring NCC regulations in line with international copyright-licensing practices by distinguishing between cable TV and IPTV technology licenses. He also promised to take steps to ensure that channel providers are not asked to submit confidential business documents.
- Taiwan Intellectual Property Office, January 28. The delegation from the Intellectual Property & Licensing (IP&L) Committee praised TIPO for the training it has provided to prosecutors and judges for handling trade-secrets cases since passage of a strengthened Trade Secrets Act in 2013. Director-General Wang Mei-hua pledged to continue those efforts. She was less certain that satisfactory approaches could be found to crack down on online piracy from offshore websites.
- Taiwan Food & Drug Administration, February 6. Retail committee representatives met with Director-General Chiang Yu-mei and her staff to discuss a number of highly technical points about labeling requirements for food additives mandated by recent amendments to the Food Safety and Sanitation Act.
“In quite a few cases, the government officials had some positive news for our committees,” says AmCham President Andrea Wu. “But in all cases, it was extremely useful to have face-to-face communication to enhance mutual understanding. The Chamber very much appreciates the open attitude these agencies have shown. It is one of the strengths of Taiwan’s investment climate.”