AmCham Taiwan committees are currently starting to consider their proposals for inclusion in the 2023 Taiwan White Paper to be released in June. With a few months to go in the current advocacy cycle, a few committees have already reported successful resolution of issues from the 2022 volume:
Agro-Chemicals
The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) has agreed to hold pesticide-registration review meetings on a quarterly basis. In the White Paper, the Committee pointed to the difficulties caused by the uncertain review schedule, with a typical delay of between six months and a year between completion of a technical evaluation and review by the Pesticide Advisory Committee.
Retail
TFDA also agreed to revise the “Regulations Governing Nutrition Claims on Packaged Food” to reflect recent technological developments. As the Committee noted in the White Paper, “Advancements in food technology have made it possible for healthful nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, protein, and others to be incorporated into snack-style food products that can help increase the nutrient intake of children and those with low appetite due to diseases or other physical conditions.” But until now, manufacturers were restricted from making claims about the nutritional content of such products.
Transportation and Logistics
The Committee asked in the White Paper for an improved import environment for companies that have been certified as Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs), including according them expedited determination of Harmonized System codes. The Customs Administration agreed in a meeting with Committee representatives to establish a window to deal with this issue.
Other committees, such as Banking and Capital Markets, have reported encouraging progress toward resolution of one or more of their issues.
“We appreciate the attention that various regulatory bodies have given to our White Paper issues, as well as the coordination role of the National Development Council, and we are gratified that a few issues have already been resolved,” says AmCham Taiwan President Andrew Wylegala. “We hope that considerably more progress can be made for the sake of further boosting Taiwan’s business competitiveness during this challenging period. Taiwan’s adoption of quarterly reviews of pesticide registrations, moreover, is the type of Good Regulatory Practice under negotiation in the U.S.-Taiwan 21st Century Initiative, which bodes well for rapid progress under that important bilateral engagement.”