MTAG: AUGUST 2006 UPDATE ON TAIWAN EXPORT CONTROL

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 002701 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/TC AND ISN/MTR E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/09/2026 TAGS: MTCRE PARM TW ECCT SUBJECT: MTAG: AUGUST 2006 UPDATE ON TAIWAN EXPORT CONTROL REF: A. STATE 130069 ¶B. STATE 128600 ¶C. STATE 119654 Classified By: AIT ADDIR Charles E. Bennett, REASONS 1.4 B/C ¶1. (S) Summary: On August 9, AIT delivered to the Taiwan Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT)ref A talking points on recent machine tool transfers to North Korea by Ching Hwee International Trading and ref B results of three export license reviews. BOFT noted that the U.S. response on export license case WA0606261115448007 is overdue. BOFT said its recommendation on measures to demonstrate Taiwan's displeasure over recent North Korean missile tests has been forwarded to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for announcement. Separately, AIT has forwarded the results of BOFT's investigation of recent Euma-Spinner Corporation transfer of machine tools to Syria (ref C) via email. Action Request para 5. End summary. Ching Hwee Machine Tools to North Korea -------------- ¶2. (S) AIT delivered ref a talking points/non-paper on machine tool transfers to North Korea by Ching Hwee to the BOFT Export Controls Task Force Head Wally Su. AIT emphasized that Ching Hwee has been selling machine tools to North Korea for years now and needs to be stopped. Su said he suspected that Ching Hwee was shipping machine tools to North Korea via intermediate territories to evade the need for an export license. He said that he is currently working with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau on ways of collecting evidence such as phone conversations or bank records that could prove Ching Hwee is aware that its products are going to North Korea and thus provide the legal basis for prosecution. He agreed with AIT's recommendation that a harsh penalty could be an effective deterrent for other companies tempted to engage in such behavior. -------------- -- ¶3. (S) BOFT noted an apparent mix-up of case numbers in ref ¶B. Su explained that case WA060712165238018 is the shipment going for temporary display at the industrial fair in Iran, while case WA060705160110006 was inadvertently sent twice. AIT and BOFT agreed that to prevent such confusion in the future, BOFT will add the letters 'XO' (meaning for exhibition only) to the SCL column in the template. Su reiterated that in general Taiwan is pleased at how well the review system is working, but he also noted that the U.S. response on export license case WA0606261115448007 is overdue. Measures Against North Korea -------------- ¶4. (S) BOFT Su told AIT that in response to repeated AIT high-level demarches that Taiwan restrict its trade with North Korea, an interagency group last week approved his recommendation to immediately expand the list of items requiring an export license to be shipped to North Korea to include the 344 additional items recommended by U.S. agencies in December 2005. Su said a letter announcing this has been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for delivery, and that it would also be noted at the TIFA follow-up talks scheduled for next week. Investigation Results -------------- ¶5. (S) AIT has forwarded the results of BOFT's investigation of the Euma-Spinner companies to EAP/TC and ISN/MTR via email (ref C). The documents forwarded include a list of Euma machine tool exports to the Spinner Company in Germany. The TAIPEI 00002701 002 OF 002 Spinner Company maintains a sales office in the Middle East, which, Taiwan officials suspect, has transshipped machine tools to Syria. In its investigation report, BOFT requests U.S. assistance in passing this information to the German Government. Action request: please advise what, if any, response we should give to this request for U.S. assistance in relaying export control information to the German Government. YOUNG