HKC 02075
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
45
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
REGISTRY
PA
Action Taken
dti
the department for Enterprise
Mrs S E Hogwood
ESED
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London SW1A 2AH
Direct line 071 215 6119
Our ref
Your ref
Date 4 February 1993
معام
14
Department of Trade and Industry
Ashdown House
123 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6RB
Enquiries
071-215 5000
Telex 8813148 DIHQ G
Fax 071-828 3258
Pen Sue,
MONTREAL PROTOCOL:
1
TAIWAN
Thank you for your letter of 22 January. You asked for clarification of the points made on page 2 of my letter of 14 January regarding the action which the United Kingdom could take to ensure Taiwan's compliance with the provisions of the Montreal Protocol.
2
The key point is that the adoption of the option (a) interpretation of the Protocol, while expedient, does not have the effect of creating rights or obligations as between Taiwan, on the one hand, and other parties to the Protocol on the other hand. At the same time, once Taiwan becomes a Contracting Party to the GATT it will benefit from GATT rights to non-discriminatory treatment by the European Community and other Contracting Parties. In circumstances where Taiwan were not to bring its policies on CFCs into conformity with requirements of the Protocol, it would be open to other members of the Protocol to put in place the trade measures envisaged by the Protocol. Such action would be outside the terms of the Protocol (following the option (a) interpretation). It would, however, raise the question of Taiwan's position in respect of its GATT rights. It might be argued by Taiwan that the imposition of such trade measures was a denial of its right to MFM treatment; the point being that in GATT terms such trade measures would appear to be discriminatory.
3 To be defensible in GATT, the trade measures taken by the EC would need to be covered by one of the exceptions listed in GATT Article XX. It would also need to meet the two tests set out in the chapeau to that Article.
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Recycled Paper
888-273