Taiwan’s top trade negotiator John Deng and Lithuania’s Vice Foreign Minister Raimundas Karoblis have met on the sidelines of the WTO ministerial meeting. The two countries discussed joint resistance to China’s economic coercion. The bilateral talks were held in Geneva on Monday.
Deng says both Taiwan and Lithuania are subject to China’s use of trade as a tool to pressure countries. Lithuania’s exports to China have been blocked after a Taiwanese representative office was established in its capital Vilnius. China put a ban on imports of fruits and most recently farmed grouper from Taiwan due to political reasons. Deng says both democracies must join forces to demand that China comply with WTO free trade regulations.
At the talks, Taiwan’s representative to the WTO, Lo Chang-fa, said current WTO policy makes it difficult to regulate “under the table” trade barriers. He says the issue should be included in future WTO discussions.
Karoblis recognized the importance of establishing "anti-economic coercion" laws as a means to counter unilateral practices of authoritarian countries. He also hopes they will safeguard the integrity of multilateral trade.
Meanwhile, Lithuania announced on Monday that it will establish a representative office in Taipei this fall.