WTO's arbitration may be the remedy to Taiwan-US beef dispute

Taiwan should not dismiss the possible fallout from the US beef row and US scholars suggested that the US take the case to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for resolution.

Taiwan's reinstatement of a partial ban on US beef imports, achieved earlier this month through a law amendment, was seen by the US as a unilateral abrogation of a beef protocol signed between the two sides last October.

Taiwan should not dismiss the damage the issue could cause, because at the minimum it has slowed down the negotiations of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between both sides, said Alan Romberg, a senior fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Centre.

The best way for the US to resolve the issue is to go through the WTO's trade dispute mechanism, Romberg said.

The WTO mechanism is a multilateral system of settling disputes between its members. According to the WTO website, a dispute is usually settled in 12 months without appeal or 15 months with appeal. Countries in dispute can settle their differences at any stage of the process, it states.

Bonnie Glaser, a senior fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), expressed a similar view, saying that while beef imports account for only a tiny portion of US-Taiwan trade, it is best for the US to put the matter in the hands of the WTO.

The US Congress actually changed domestic laws to make sure they are WTO consistent and compliant but it seems that Taiwan's Legislative Yuan is just the opposite, Glaser said in response to a comment the US Congress had not ratified or approved some agreements in the past.

The agreements or protocols that the US Congress did not ratify were international agreements involving many countries with different positions -- not bilateral agreements that had already been signed, she explained.

By taking the case to the WTO, the US will also be able to "depoliticise" the issue, Glaser said.