Taiwan’s application to WTO (World Trade Organization) General Council was approved on Nov. 11, 2001, and on Jan. 1 of this year we formally entered into WTO. Since Jan. 1, 1979 Taiwan had made the application for a term of twelve years until it became a former member country in December last year. It seemed to be such an endless time for us, no wonder that our countrymen all felt much gratified when the dream was fulfilled. The great significance of joining WTO is that we can have the parity, in accordance with WTO agreements, to participate in international trade and economic affairs, and to develop reciprocal multilateral and bilateral trading relations of mutual benefits with other member countries as well. The fourth WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Doha in November 2001 and the Doha Declaration was concluded, after the conference, as the guideline for future works. The declaration turned to be the focus of that year. We have dispatched representatives to every meeting and published the documents regarding the stance of our country, and then highlights of CTE (Committee on Trade and Environment) negotiations are the pivotal issues for the government’s competent authorities currently. This team, at first, collects and analyzes the stance of every country toward the CTE negotiations; next, proceeds with four important topics: environmental labeling, the environmental service industry, environmental impact assessment of trade agreement and the correspondence between WTO and MEAs (Multilateral Environmental Agreements); and, finally, attempts to submit environmental labeling documents regarding our official perspective. We obtain the following results through the execution of this project: 1. Grasping the current trend of the Top 10 issues in WTO/CTE and the fundamental principles of the USA, European Union, and relevant organizations; analyzing the impact of the WSSD (World Summit on Sustainable Development) on environmental and trade issues; 2. Submitting environmental labeling documents regarding our official perspective; 3. Understanding the latest development of the WTO negotiation on environmental service industry and delivering the strategy to cope with the coming round of negotiation; and 4. Undertaking the analysis of the correspondence between Basel Convention, Montreal Protocol, Framework Convention on Climate Change and Stockholm Convention. At last, this research brings up the following obligatory directions for future research: 1. Continuously control and analyze the newest development prevailing over relevant issues of WTO’s Committee on Trade and Environment, and dispatch personnel to the meeting. In view that connected issues of the CTE have sustained revolution, we should track and analyze the fresh conclusion of such issues to grasp the current trend, with which the government may set up proper policies. Dispatching project personnel to participate in the conference and publishing the documents regarding our perspectives will acquire the first-hand material and realize more about the counterparty’s stance through bilateral talks. And designing a long-term training for more negotiation talents and inviting research institutions, scholars and experts for these meetings will enhance the negotiation performance. 2. Intensify the analysis of the compatibility between international environmental conventions and WTO. The CTE will hold its first conference in February 2003. The correspondence between international environmental conventions and WTO (Section 31, I, the Doha Declaration) is supposed to be the highlight of the discussion at the meeting. We should select those which have a close concern with us, as recommended, Basel Convention, Montreal Protocol, Framework Convention on Climate Change, to reason that is there any breach of WTO current regulations that the signatories adopt restrictions on trade according to particular trade obligation, and how to deal with the confliction between the signatories and the non-signatories? And arrange, submit our official perspective in written form. 3. Reinforce our participation in relevant conferences regarding international environmental conventions. We should actively take part in every relevant conference of MEAs to increase the interaction with MEAs. Among the issues of the Sixth General Assembly Meeting of Basel Convention that is coming nearly, the application of dispute settlement body, No. 20 of the convention, has been listed as one of them. We should send personnel for the meeting to explain our stance. As for the personnel selected, those who can attend every meeting of both the CTE and MEAs are considered priority, in order to catch the interaction with the CTE/MEAs and obtain the optimum effects.

WTO, CTE, CTESS