Political liberalization following the lifting of Martial Law in Taiwan in 1987 was vital in the gradual decline of authoritarianism on the island. While the KMT previously managed Taiwan through a...Show morePolitical liberalization following the lifting of Martial Law in Taiwan in 1987 was vital in the gradual decline of authoritarianism on the island. While the KMT previously managed Taiwan through a system of corporatist control, the advent of pluralism saw a decline of the ruling party, a disintegration of authoritarian state institutions and the increased implementation of neoliberal policies to restructure the Taiwanese economy. In taking on a comparative perspective between the causes of labour discipline before and after political liberalization in Taiwan, this paper will argue that variegated interests and processes established neoliberalism in Taiwan, shifting the causes of labour discipline away from state-cooptation towards precarious and insecure employment relationships.Show less
“There’s no automaticity about the decision [to grant China market-economy treatment]. We need to make a formal decision and table a law.” Source: Interview with Cecilia Malmström, Wall Street...Show more“There’s no automaticity about the decision [to grant China market-economy treatment]. We need to make a formal decision and table a law.” Source: Interview with Cecilia Malmström, Wall Street Journal 2014 This quote by the European Union’s (EU) trade commissioner, Cecilia Malmström in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2014 represents the current state of affairs regarding the upcoming query on whether to grant China market economy status (MES) in 2016. Art. 15 (d) of China’s accession protocol to the World Trade Organization (WTO) stipulates that the ongoing non-market economy status (NMES) is no longer applicable after 2016. This pressures the EU to draft a proper decision on whether 2016 will be the year in which it recognizes China’s economy as a market economy, making it significantly more difficult to initiate anti-dumping duties against Chinese imports. This justifies the need to better understand the concept of MES and its influence on anti-dumping disputes between Europe and China. The WTO classifies dumping in Art. 2 of its anti-dumping agreement (ADA) and Art. VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 as “[introducing a product] into the commerce of another country at less than its normal value”. By definition the ‘normal value’ refers to a “comparable price in the ordinary cause of trade” between international traders which determine whether competition is fair. Thus, it ensures that products are not ‘dumped’ on another economy for less than the domestic price in its country of origin. In that regard, MES becomes an important tool because it determines the ‘ordinary cause of trade’. Accordingly, a comparison between different markets can only be fair, if they operate under similar conditions: that of a market economy.Show less
