The ROC government envisages half of Taiwan's exports being sent to partners with which it has free trade or economic cooperation agreements by 2016, according to Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang.
A key component of this goal involves Taiwan joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Shih said Oct. 31. Membership of this regional economic body is one of the government’s long-term goals and part of President Ma Ying-jeou’s golden decade vision, he added.
The TPP is currently being negotiated between the U.S. and eight other partners. These are Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Shih made the comments at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee, during which a lawmaker requested that the Ministry of Economic Affairs put forward a concrete timetable in light of the fact that South Korea, one of Taiwan’s main competitors, has already signed FTAs with 45 nations and regions, including the U.S. and EU. The ROC has inked only five such pacts, with its Central American diplomatic allies El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
The minister noted that the signing of the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with mainland China, the destination for some 40 percent of Taiwan’s exports, has been helpful in terms of Taiwan’s efforts to ink FTAs with other countries.
Since ECFA came into effect last year, Taiwan has launched formal talks with Singapore on signing an economic partnership agreement, known as ASTEP, while on Oct. 25 Taiwan and New Zealand announced the launch of feasibility studies on starting ECA talks, Shih said.
As for beginning talks with the EU on inking an ECA, Shih noted that the European Parliament has already expressed support for such a pact, adding that ECFA will be helpful in terms of removing obstacles stemming from the “China factor.”
Noting that FTA talks usually take two to three years to complete, as they involve a variety of complex issues, Shih said his ministry has adopted a gradual strategy, focusing first on New Zealand and Singapore, both of which are TPP members.
In addition to these two nations, India, Indonesia and the Philippines have also begun assessing the feasibility of starting ECA negotiations with Taiwan, Shih pointed out. (SB)