The minister pointed out that the two nations will pursue a trade pact that includes agreements on trade, investment, intellectual property rights, electronic commerce and customs cooperation.
Though the trade accord is similar to a free trade agreement, the two sides will not refer to it as such, Shih said, “because not using such a designation actually opens up more possibilities.” He noted that Singapore has entered trade agreements with Japan and India in recent years without calling them FTAs.
“The tie-up will enable the two sides to jointly expand their market shares,” the official said, adding that the deal will create demand for Taiwan’s agricultural and fishery products in Singapore given Singapore’s relatively small agricultural sector.
The MOEA has commissioned its Office of Trade Negotiations to form a negotiation team to lead all future discussions with its Singaporean counterpart, Shih said.
According to the local newspaper Economic Daily News Aug. 6, the two sides are expected to enter into official negotiations after Lim Hng-kiang, Singapore’s minister of Trade and Industry, visits Taipei later this year to attend a scheduled bilateral ministerial meeting. Shih expects the negotiations to be completed within one year.
MOEA statistics show that Singapore is Taiwan’s sixth largest trading partner, accounting for 3.55 percent of the island’s external trade. Two-way commerce between the two states amounted to US$13.42 billion in 2009, with semiconductors and components and oil products being the major goods of trade. As of March 2010, Taiwanese firms have invested US$5.49 billion in the Lion City. Singapore is the sixth largest foreign investor in Taiwan.
In related news, the ROC Presidential Office issued a statement Aug. 5 commending mainland China for not interfering with the proposed deal between Taiwan and Singapore.
The mainland government’s response is a “pragmatic” one that “takes Taiwan’s economic interests into account,” Presidential Spokesman Lo Chih-chiang said in the statement, adding that such a move will contribute to the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.
To increase Taiwan’s competitiveness on the world stage, the nation will seek to enter into similar trade agreements with its major trading partners under the framework of the World Trade Organization, Lo said.
Write to Meg Chang at meg.chang@mail.gio.gov.tw