Taipei, Jan. 25 (CNA) The Taiwan Machine Tool and Accessory Builder's Association (TMBA) said Thursday it will continue to adhere to government sanctions against specific exports to Russia, but it did not directly address recent news reports that some of its members had been flouting the regulations.
In a statement, the TMBA said that since Russia launched the war against Ukraine in February 2022, the association has been keeping a close eye on the military conflict and has been reminding its members to stay in line with the export sanctions imposed by Taiwan and other countries.
Since April 2022, the Taiwan government has been listing goods that are banned from export to Russia, primarily high-tech products.
The sanctions on the export of strategic high-tech commodities (SHTC), as they are called, are aimed at preventing their use by countries like Russia Belarus, Iran and North Korea for military purposes and at upholding Taiwan's commitment to international cooperation, the government has said.
The original SHTC list included products such as nuclear energy materials, electronic items, computers, telecommunications and information security products, sensors, lasers, navigation and avionics items, and maritime, aerospace and propulsion systems.
In January 2023, the government agency that handles such matters -- the International Trade Administration (ITA) -- added 52 items to the SHTC list, regarding Russia and Belrussia, including chemical products and machine tools.
According to recent local media reports, however, some TMBA members have been flouting the sanctions, selling their products to Russia's military industry.
Citing an investigative report, the Taiwan-based news site the Reporter said Wednesday that some Taiwanese machine tool suppliers had been taking advantage of the loopholes in export controls to sell sensitive products not only to Russia's military industry, but also to its Lebedev Physical Institute and Budker Nuclear Physics Institute, which are on a banned list compiled by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
On Tuesday, the Liberty Times reported that ITA officials had met with representatives of Taiwan's machinery and machine tool exporters and their business associations earlier in the week, asking them to do their jobs by carefully investigating their clients to prevent violations of the sanctions.
While the TMBA on Thursday did not directly confirm or deny the news reports, it said it had asked its members to pay close attention to the sale and distribution of their products so that the goods do not indirectly end up in the sanctioned countries.
Furthermore, the TMBA said, it has advised its members to immediately stop supplying finished machine tool products and components to the sanctioned countries, whether or not the products are on the SHTC list.
That is a precaution to prevent the use of those products for unknown purposes, which could accidentally violate the international export controls, the TMBA said.
Most of its members have reached a consensus on the control measures and have held discussions with the Ministry of Economic Affairs about how to observe the sanctions and prevent technology leaks, the association said.
According to the TMBA, its members usually pay close attention to the SHTC, Wassenaar Arrangement, and International Trade Administration advisories, as they do not want their exports of high-tech and sensitive products to end up in Russia.
The Wassenaar Arrangement was established in July 1996 to contribute to regional and international security by promoting transparency and responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies.
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