Clinton Weighs Sanctions Over Taiwan Wildlife Trade

WASHINGTON Top advisers to President Clinton are recommendingthat he take the unprecedented step of imposing trade sanctionsagainst Taiwan for illegal trafficking in wildlife, administrationofficials said Wednesday.

The same interagency recommendation said that China, alsoaccused of illegal trade in rhinoceros horns and tiger bones, shouldbe spared sanctions at this time, according to the officials, whospoke on condition of anonymity.

A decision to impose sanctions would mark the first time theUnited States ever has taken such action to protect endangeredspecies. While controversial in free-trade circles, such a movewould help Clinton regain favor with environmental groups, which havebeen disappointed with some of the administration's other decisions.

The president informed China and Taiwan in November that theywould face trade sanctions unless they stemmed their trafficking inrhinos and tigers, which are listed as endangered species andprotected under the Convention on International Trade in EndangeredSpecies, or CITES. Clinton gave the two nations a March deadline.

Tiger and rhino parts are valued in Asia for medicinal purposes.

Sanctions against Taiwan would be mostly symbolic. Therecommendation is that Clinton bar only wildlife products that Taiwanexports to the United States. That covers a $22 million-a-yearmarket that includes items such as snakeskin shoes, coral andmussel-shell jewelry, tropical fish and items made from reptileskins.

The items make up a modest share of the U.S.-Taiwan trade. TheClinton administration is "not trying to start a trade war" but wantsto show Taiwan how seriously it views the endangered species issue,one official said.

Administration officials decided to deal separately with Chinaand Taiwan, partly because they have made differing degrees ofprogress toward complying with the endangered species treaty,officials said.

In addition, the question of China also included considerationof larger, sensitive bilateral issues regarding human rights andcooperation on the nuclear controversy in North Korea, officialssaid.

Wildlife experts say the rhino and tiger populations aredeclining fast and the animals could face extinction by the end ofthe century.

The number of tigers has fallen 95 percent this century, withan estimated 5,000 left. Rhinos were estimated at a population of10,000 last fall.