Market Access Opportunities
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Industry
Organic Food & Ag
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Organization Type
Industry Association
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Objective
Expand Market Access
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The Challenge:
In 2009, the US and Taiwan implemented an organic equivalency arrangement (OEA) to remove barriers to entry for US-certified organic products into Taiwan and avoid US producers having to recertify to Taiwan’s organic requirements. Despite the OEA, access for US organic products to Taiwan has been restricted because of zero residue tolerance limits that surpass international norms and are much more restrictive than the USDA’s National Organic Program and other national organic standards. As such, six US organic certifiers were targeted and placed on Taiwan’s list of noncompliance with Taiwan organic requirements which resulted in mandatory testing of all US organic imports into Taiwan if certified by any of the six US organic certifiers. Given onerous and expensive testing requirements in Taiwan, US exports to Taiwan significantly decreased over the period of several years.
TradeMoves’ Approach: Global Intelligence & Insights + Smart Trade Tools + Sourcing & Supply Chain Strategies
In order to address these issues and provide a comprehensive solution, TradeMoves was contracted in 2017 to engage with stakeholders, gather intelligence, and develop the first-ever industry manual for US exporters selling US organic products into Taiwan.
This project provided visibility into Taiwan’s organic import regime for US exporters of US organic products. In Taiwan, we arranged for a trade delegation of four US organic certifiers and two industry association staff to meet with Taiwan’s organic regulatory authorities to launch the Export Guide and for organic certifiers to present evidence of compliance with organic standards to facilitate removal from Taiwan’s blacklist.
The Outcome:
Our market access initiative resulted in creation of a dynamic map of Taiwan’s complex organic labeling system and import process for organic products providing increased transparency; instructions and a path towards removal from Taiwan’s list of certifiers subject to 100% mandatory testing at Taiwan ports of entry; removal of two US certifiers from the list; and over $20 M of US organic exports to Taiwan since publication of the Taiwan Export Manual in April 2018. The work helped U.S. negotiators expand the one-way arrangement to a comprehensive bilateral arrangement.
In 2009, the US and Taiwan implemented an organic equivalency arrangement (OEA) to remove barriers to entry for US-certified organic products into Taiwan and avoid US producers having to recertify to Taiwan’s organic requirements. Despite the OEA, access for US organic products to Taiwan has been restricted because of zero residue tolerance limits that surpass international norms and are much more restrictive than the USDA’s National Organic Program and other national organic standards. As such, six US organic certifiers were targeted and placed on Taiwan’s list of noncompliance with Taiwan organic requirements which resulted in mandatory testing of all US organic imports into Taiwan if certified by any of the six US organic certifiers. Given onerous and expensive testing requirements in Taiwan, US exports to Taiwan significantly decreased over the period of several years.
TradeMoves’ Approach: Global Intelligence & Insights + Smart Trade Tools + Sourcing & Supply Chain Strategies
In order to address these issues and provide a comprehensive solution, TradeMoves was contracted in 2017 to engage with stakeholders, gather intelligence, and develop the first-ever industry manual for US exporters selling US organic products into Taiwan.
This project provided visibility into Taiwan’s organic import regime for US exporters of US organic products. In Taiwan, we arranged for a trade delegation of four US organic certifiers and two industry association staff to meet with Taiwan’s organic regulatory authorities to launch the Export Guide and for organic certifiers to present evidence of compliance with organic standards to facilitate removal from Taiwan’s blacklist.
The Outcome:
Our market access initiative resulted in creation of a dynamic map of Taiwan’s complex organic labeling system and import process for organic products providing increased transparency; instructions and a path towards removal from Taiwan’s list of certifiers subject to 100% mandatory testing at Taiwan ports of entry; removal of two US certifiers from the list; and over $20 M of US organic exports to Taiwan since publication of the Taiwan Export Manual in April 2018. The work helped U.S. negotiators expand the one-way arrangement to a comprehensive bilateral arrangement.
