Foreign Minister Lin thanks U.S. Congressional friends for raising serious concerns to the WTO Secretary-General over Taiwan’s compelled absence from WTO MC14

Foreign Minister Lin thanks U.S. Congressional friends for raising serious concerns to the WTO Secretary-General over Taiwan's compelled absence from WTO MC14

• Date：2026-05-16
• Data Source：Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs

May 16, 2026

No. 211

In response to Taiwan being compelled to miss the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held in March 2026 in Cameroon, after the host country used a downgraded designation for Taiwan, 26 bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives jointly sent a letter on May 14 to WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala expressing serious concern. They urged the WTO Secretariat to ensure that incidents undermining members' rights do not occur again. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung expresses his sincere appreciation for this support.

Led by Representative Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, Chairman Adrian Smith (R-NE), and Vice Ranking Member Judy Chu (D-CA), the 26 bipartisan members emphasized in their letter that since Taiwan's accession to the WTO in 2002 as a "separate customs territory," its status has been fully respected and it has enjoyed full and equal rights to participate in Ministerial Conferences alongside other members. However, they noted that Cameroon's visa documentation referred to Taiwan as "Taiwan Province of China," implying that Taiwan is not an independent WTO member. Such an inappropriate designation undermines Taiwan's rights as a full WTO member.

The lawmakers further requested that the WTO Director-General respond by June 3 to the following two questions: (1) How will the WTO Secretariat ensure that this incident does not set a precedent for future Ministerial Conferences? (2) Is the WTO Secretariat putting in place written guidelines to provide assurances that similar incidents undermining the rights of Members will not occur at future Ministerial Conferences?

Minister Lin Chia-lung expressed sincere appreciation to his friends in the U.S. Congress for their firm support. Taiwan will continue to work closely with like-minded WTO members to staunchly safeguard its rights and dignity.(E)