The Cabinet today approved a draft amendment to Articles 20-3 and 28 of the Foreign Trade Act, which Premier Jiang Yi-huah said would bring Taiwan closer to international practice.
In the effort to expand its international space, said Premier Jiang, Taiwan has been actively pursuing economic and trade agreements with major partners, including Singapore and New Zealand. All these agreements contain provisions for a self-certification scheme that allows government-approved exporters, importers and manufacturers to self-declare the country of origin for their products, rather than having to apply to authorities for the issuance of such certificates. This scheme is also prescribed in many international agreements and in the charters of world organizations. If passed by the Legislative Yuan, the amendment will enable greater trade facilitation and conformity with international practices.
The amendment also promotes self-regulation by businesses while reducing inspection costs for authorities. If a company falsifies certification documents but notifies the appropriate parties and authorities before the violation is discovered by the Bureau of Foreign Trade, the company will be subject to lesser or no penalties.
The amendment adds the following provisions:
1.Legal basis for self-certification of origin, and matters prohibited under the scheme; mechanism for verifying a product's country of origin; other matters to be prescribed by the competent authority. (Article 20-3)
2.Penalties for violating the rules governing self-certification. (Article 28)