EU Opens Dispute Settlement Talks at WTO on Taiwan's Rules for Offshore Wind Towers

The EU on July 26 requested dispute settlement consultations at the World Trade Organization on Taiwan's use of local content criteria for offshore wind energy projects, the European Commission announced.

The commission said Taiwan's "local content eligibility and award criteria in energy capacity allocation auctions for offshore wind farms" violate its WTO commitment to "not discriminate against imported goods and services." The local content requirements will result in "efficiency losses and price increases," spelling losses for the transition to green energy, the commission said.

If the dispute settlement consultations don't result in a solution within 60 days, the EU can request a panel at the WTO. The EU said it hopes "a mutually-satisfactory solution can be found in the course of the dispute settlement consultations."