貨品貿易與法規透明化──臺美二十一世紀貿易倡議下透明化義務之建構

Trade in Goods and Regulatory Transparency Obligation—Transparency Obligations under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade

不論從減少貿易保護措施或促進貿易之角度出發，透明化義務均被認為是維繫全球貿易順利運作之重要關鍵。隨著時代的推進，貿易協定中透明化義務之課與也從早前側重於揭露貿易相關規範，以提升貿易政策及規範之可預見性和避免隱藏性貿易障礙限制，轉變為強調資訊的有效提供並透過透明化機制的建立強化監督和問責機制，使貿易規範能在良好治理下發展並減少貪腐情況之發生。為了探討貿易規則中透明化義務之演變，以及全球多邊貿易體系以及區域貿易體系中透明化義務規範之發展趨勢，本文將依序檢視關稅暨貿易總協定（GATT）時期、世界貿易組織（WTO）法律以及區域貿易協定中有關透明化義務之規範，進而探討2023年我國與美國所締結之臺美21世紀貿易倡議首批協定中有關透明化義務之規範，除檢視臺美21世紀貿易倡議中透明化義務建構與國際規範趨勢發展之異同外，並將討論臺美21世紀貿易倡議中透明化義務對我國之可能影響和意涵。

In modern trade regulatory frameworks, transparency obligations are crucial to maintaining global trade operations and reducing disguised protection measures. In the past decades, the imposition of transparency obligations in trade agreements has shifted from focusing on the disclosure of trade-related regulations to enhance the predictability of trade policies and regulations and avoid hidden trade barriers to emphasizing the adequate provision of information and the establishment of transparency mechanisms to strengthen supervision and accountability mechanisms. The ultimate goal of pursuing transparency now corresponds to the pursuit of good governance and to reduce corruption, thereby reassuring the integrity of the trading system. To explore the evolution of transparency obligations in trade rules and the development trends of transparency obligations in the global multilateral trade system and regional trade systems, this article will examine the transparency obligations within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the World Trade Organization (WTO) laws, and regional trade agreements. Furthermore, the regulations on transparency obligations in the first batch of agreements under the U.S.-Taiwan 21st Century Trade Initiative concluded in 2023 shall also be assessed. In addition to examining the similarities and differences between the construction of transparency obligations in the U.S.-Taiwan 21st Century Trade Initiative and the development trends of international regulations, this article will also discuss its possible impacts and implications for Taiwan.