 |
U.S.-China trade spat now affects Taiwan
Friday, May 14, 1999
By EMILY SCHWARTZ
WASHINGTON -- The NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade has inflicted collateral damage on Taiwan's nine-year effort to gain entry to the World Trade Organization.
Soon after the May 7 bombing, which killed three Chinese and wounded 20, China and the United States suspended talks over China's entry into the WTO.
That stalled Taiwan's own bid to join WTO because WTO members have negotiated with the understanding that China would join the trade organization before its rival government across the Taiwan Strait, analysts said.
"The assumption on this issue is Taiwan's fate is tied to China," says Charles Wolf, an analyst at the Rand Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif.
A delay poses a potential diplomatic and commercial setback for Taiwan, the world's 15th-largest trading nation, which is eager for the prestige and leverage it would gain by joining the WTO, an organization that is scheduled to begin a new round of trade talks at Seattle in November.
Taiwan's inability to gain admission calls into question the WTO's emphasis on economics, not politics, because Taiwan already largely qualifies to join the trade body, while China does not, analysts said.
On Wednesday, Taiwanese officials announced in Geneva they completed negotiations with individual WTO countries, a crucial component of gaining acceptance by the Geneva-based body, which sets the rules for world trade and seeks to reduce tariffs and investment barriers among its more than 130 members.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
All rights reserved.
· The strike is on at Boeing
· Workers at Todd Pacific nix contract a second time
· Google reigns as the world's most powerful 10-year-old
· Of Mutual Interest: U.S. and world markets both still viable
· Surviving a foreclosure cushioned by planning
· State mortgage woes grow worse
· Freddie, Fannie bailout nears
· Unemployment rate passes 6% with no relief in sight
· Which candidate feels pain of U.S. economy?
· Small Retail: They've got your hammer
· Business Briefing
more
101 Elliott Ave. W.
Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 448-8000
Home Delivery: (206) 464-2121 or (800) 542-0820
seattlepi.com serves about 1.7 million unique visitors
and 30 million page views each month.
Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
Send investigative tips to iteam@seattlepi.com
©1996-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Terms of Use/Privacy Policy
