MTAG: TAIWAN SPEEDS GAMEPLAN IMPLEMENTATION

S E C R E T TAIPEI 001084 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/TC AND ISN/MTR E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2026 TAGS: ECCT PARM MTCRE JP TW SUBJECT: MTAG: TAIWAN SPEEDS GAMEPLAN IMPLEMENTATION REF: A. STATE 36441 ¶B. 05 TAIPEI 4332 Classified By: AIT DEPUTY DIRECTOR DAVID J. KEEGAN, REASONS 1.4 B, C, D . ¶1. (S) Summary: Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) Chief Secretary Peter Ho explained to AIT on March 28 that in response to AIT demarches regarding the slow pace of implementation of Taiwan's "gameplan" commitments (Ref A),it would immediately begin steps to implement a requirement for export/transit/transship licenses for all SHTC items plus the commodities on the 89-item list, while continuing its discussions with industry on the U.S. 454-item list. BOFT estimates that if things go smoothly it could start in May sending AIT 100 license applications per month for review by Washington agencies. Action request para 6. End summary. ¶2. (S) BOFT Chief Secretary Peter Ho and BOFT Export Control Task Force Head Wally Su told AIT on March 28 that the Taiwan government wished to demonstrate clearly that it was not deliberately delaying implementing its export control "gameplan" commitments, as AIT had implied when delivering Ref A demarche. Ho said that as a proof of its "sincere" attitude towards its commitments, Taiwan would immediately implement its gameplan commitment to require export/transit/transshipment license for all Sensitive High-tech Commodities (SHTC) listed in the international arrangements, and for all items on the 89-item sensitive commodities list that BOFT provided to AIT in October 2005 (Ref B). ¶3. (S) Ho said that BOFT would continue its discussions with local industry, other agencies, and with the new MOEA Minister Hwang Ing-san to explain the need for the additional 454 items suggested by Washington agencies. However, to avoid the appearance any unnecessary delay BOFT had decided to first implement its commitment with regard to those items where there was already a consensus acceptance from industry. ¶4. (S) BOFT Ho said it will need some time to publish the new requirements and give industry advance notice, but that if things went smoothly BOFT could start sending the license applications to AIT in early May. He estimated that based on past shipping statistics there would be about 100 export licenses per month for review by Washington agencies. However, he could not estimate the additional number of transit/transshipment licenses because of the lack of data. Possible Role for CSI Team -------------- ¶5. (S) While BOFT assured AIT that Taiwan Customs uses an effective Targeting Risk Management (TRM) system that could target inspections on ships that might be carrying sensitive commodities to or from Iran or North Korea, AIT believes that the Container Security Initiative (CSI) computer software could provide substantial assistance in identifying which ships should be inspected. ¶6. (S) Action request: Please advise on the possibility of CSI assisting Taiwan Customs in targeting transit/transshipment cargoes to inspect for export control purposes. We have discussed this with CSI Kaohsiung Head Probo Munoz and he is currently looking into the possibility. YOUNG