Proposed new standard sales contracts drafted for autos and educational publishing products are more stringent than anywhere else in the world.

The importance of consumer protection is a value subscribed to by all responsible businesses. But attempts to protect the public can also be taken to such excessive lengths that sellers are put at a severe disadvantage and even buyers are greatly inconvenienced. An example is the current effort to draft new standard sales contracts to apply to the educational publishing and automotive industries. The drafts, prepared by a legal foundation under contact to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, are well-meaning but seriously misguided. They would present an unreasonable barrier to the normal business operations of foreign-invested and domestic companies alike.

One clause common to the two proposed contracts calls for a two-step process ¡V each step requiring the consumer's signature ¡V before a purchase can be completed. After the first signature, the would-be buyer takes home the contract (but not the product) for review. After at least three days have passed, the buyer and salesperson can then meet again for the signing of the actual contract. (This procedure would come on top of existing regulations enabling consumers to change their minds and return the product for a full refund within seven days).

This doubling of the sales effort would create additional costs for the vendor that would inevitably have to be reflected in the market price. It is also doubtful that many consumers would welcome the additional waiting time and hassle before obtaining their new sedan or home-study educational products.

Numerous other clauses, specific to one or another of the two industries, also present problems. An example for automobile sales requires the dealer to terminate the contract or replace the vehicle under certain circumstances, some of which are virtually impossible to prove ¡V such as abrupt acceleration occurring within one year of repair of that condition. Other clauses, contravening regulations in the Chattel Mortgage Law, restrict the seller's ability to repossess and auction a vehicle after non-payment.

For educational materials, a proposed change affecting the seven-day unconditional cancellation period would define the "date of receiving the product" not as the time of delivery but as the moment when the buyer is actually able to examine the product ¡V an unverifiable condition easily subject to abuse.

In preparing new laws and regulations, Taiwan frequently refers to standard international practice as a guideline. But research conducted by the educational publishers shows that the degree of consumer protection incorporated in the draft contract goes well beyond what is required in any other major country in the world. At a time when the Taiwan government is making progress in resolving many of the items raised in AmCham's 2004 Taiwan White Paper, the opportunity could also be taken to head off new issues before they surface in the 2005 edition.