- 期刊
談服務貿易總協定下我國服務業研發補貼措施之國民待遇問題
National Treatment under GATS and Its Application to Subsidies Related to Trade in Services
摘要
自我國加入世界貿易組織(World Trade Organization, WTO)後，政府在制定促進企業進行新產品、新技術究展之租稅優惠及補助法規時，由於這些由政府提供之企業研發成本租稅抵減及企業研發補助，有可能會構成WTO所欲規制之政府補貼措施(Subsidies)，因此，需格外注意相關補促法規能否符合WTO各協定下有關補貼之規範問題。 就目前言，透過服務貿易總協定(General Agreement on Trade in Service, GATS)，有關服務貿易補貼(Subsidies related to trade in Services)貿易規則之談判雖然尚在進行中。惟由於我國在入會時，已作成承諾一併給予服務業補貼國民待遇(National Treatment)，因此，我國所有涉及服務業補貼措施之企業研發補促活動，均有義務遵守GATS之國民待遇原則。例如，促進產業升級條例（促產條例）、促進企業研究發展補助辦法（業科補助辦法）、促進商業研究發展輔導辦法（商業研發輔導辦法）等法規，以及業界開發產業技術計畫（ITDP計畫）、小型企業創新研發計畫（SBIR計晝）、創新科技應用與服務計晝（ITAS計畫）、協肋服務業研究發展輔導計畫－業者創新研發計畫（ASSTD計晝）等補助計畫，均屬我國政府對服務（業）進行研發活動所提供之財務支持，很容易被認定爲所謂的服務業補貼措施。 基於前述我國企業研發補助或促進法令計畫，如構成服務業補貼措施，即有必要符合GATS國民待遇規定之關切，本文將試釐清有關服務業補貼措施於國民待遇原則之適用問題，並就我國現行企業研發租稅優惠和業界科專補助等法規爲檢視，研析此類補促措施可能發生之與GATS國民待遇規定不一致之疑慮。
並列摘要
Subsidies are recognized and considered as measures which may have distortive effects on both trade in goods and in services. In the World Trade Organization (WTO), provided by Article XVI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994), the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement) and the Agreement on Agriculture, trade rules governing Subsidies related trade in Good have been established. Contrary to being well-known about making domestic financial assistants and regulations consistent with those trade rules, in fact, WTO Members are less familiar with the General Agreement on Trade in Service (GATS), especially about rules of Subsidies related to trade in services. The unbalanced situation stated above comes partly from Members lack of experience related trade in services in the past, and partly from the absent of applicable of Subsidies related to trade in services under the GATS. In fact, according to Article XV of the GATS, the main obligation WTO Members have is to enter into negotiation for developing the necessary multilateral disciplines to avoid such trade-distortive effects resulting from Subsidies related to trade in services. Notwithstanding there is no trade agreement specifically established for governing Subsidies related to trade in services so far, Members' financial assistance activities involving with such Subsidies otherwise need to comply with some other obligations under the GATS; for instance, the National Treatment of Article XVII of the GATS. In Taiwan, based on the Regulations of Subsidization for Encouraging Enterprise R & D Activities, our government provides many different kinds of measures, funds or financial assistance granted for promoting advanced research and development, such as the Technology Development Programme for Enterprise, ITDP Programme, SBIR Programme, ITAS Programme, ASSTD Programme and so on. Furthermore, the amount and percentage of grants or cost share for Enterprises' R&D activities in service seems getting increase in recent years. With understanding that Subsidies related to trade in services are not excluded from the scope of Article XVII of the GATS, and that our fund assistance and grant to R&D activities in the field of service innovation are not difficult to match the conditions of Subsidies related to trade in services, this paper will aim at reviewing the existing Technology Development Programme for Enterprise and other like grants, Programmes or regulation, and analyzing whether these financial assistance measures specifically applying to domestic companies R&D activities for service innovation are consistent with trade rules of Subsidies related to trade in services and the National Treatment of Article XVII of the GATS.