US embassy cable - 04TAIPEI3145

UNCLAS TAIPEI 003145 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/RSP/TC AND OES/IHA 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO AIT/W, USEPA AND USTR 
 
USTR FOR KI, USEPA FOR OIA/THOMPSON 
 
USDOC FOR 4431/ITA/MAC/AP/OPB/TAIWAN/MBMORGAN 
USDOC FOR 3132/USFCS/OIO/EAP/ABACHER/ADESARRAN 
USDA/FAS/ITP/MEYER, FARINA 
USDA FAS FOR ITP/AAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, SENV, TW, ESTH 
SUBJECT:  TAIWAN'S NEW PACKAGING RULE:  INDUSTRY WORKING ON 
COMMENTS 
 
 
A) TAIPEI 02673 
 
1.  Summary. In July 2004, Taiwan's Environmental Protection 
Administration (TEPA) introduced a draft rule to limit 
excessive packaging.  Foreign industry representatives are 
strongly opposed to the rule.  As reported in reftel, AIT 
persuaded TEPA to postpone its implementation (originally 
scheduled for September 2004) to early 2005 and to submit 
the proposed legislation to WTO for comment.  AIT has now 
also persuaded foreign industry representatives to respond 
to TEPA's efforts to address their concerns by preparing 
constructive comments, which include concrete examples of 
the current draft rule's potential negative impacts to trade 
and clear recommendations of how the rule should be amended. 
End Summary. 
 
2.  Following TEPA's willingness to slow down the rule- 
making process to allow for meaningful consultations with 
foreign business interests and trading partners, AmCham and 
ECCT members held a meetinga  with some of the more 
proactive industry representatives including:  COSTCO, 
Wellcome (the largest foreign supermarket chain in Taiwan), 
Proctor and Gamble, Channel and Diagio on October 5.   AIT's 
Economic, Agricultural and Commercial Sections all had 
representatives at the meeting.  The business members forged 
a clear strategy and plan to respond to TEPA's request for 
comments.   They agreed to look at the most egregious cases 
of packaging waste that, if eliminated, would benefit the 
environment with minimal impacts to trade.   They agreed 
they would support a rule banning them.  They also agreed 
they needed to articulate for TEPA the legitimate uses of 
packaging that would be undermined by the proposed rule as 
currently drafted. 
 
3.  To this end, COSTCO and Wellcome agreed to provide 
examples of the range of products that might no longer be 
available to Taiwan consumers if the rule went into effect 
as currently drafted.   Channel and P&G agreed to highlight 
some of the serious problems the draft rule poses to the 
cosmetics industry.  Gillette will draft comments on how the 
regulation might undermine some of the health and safety 
benefits of packaging, Diagio agreed to draft the comments 
on behalf of the alcohol and beverage industry.   The 
business members further agreed that, in addition to 
providing specific examples of how the rule could harm 
business interests, they also would provide recommendations 
for amendments to the rule that would address their 
concerns. 
 
4.  The various industries committed to provide their 
comments to AmCham and ECCT within the next few weeks. 
AmCham and ECCT will work together to prepare a presentation 
for TEPA in a month or so. 
 
5.  AIT has learned that TEPA intends to issue the second 
draft of the rule, which is not expected to be drastically 
different than the current draft, next week.  TEPA has told 
AIT it will wait until it has responded to comments on its 
second draft before submitting the rule to WTO for comment. 
AIT will meet with TEPA, inform them that foreign industry 
representatives are preparing comments, and request that at 
least a month be allowed to comment on the draft rule.