Taiwan and Canada concluded the Investment Promotion and Protection Arrangement Dec. 22 in Taipei City, underscoring their commitment to expanding economic ties, according to the Executive Yuan.
Signed by Harry Ho-jen Tseng, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada, and Jim Nickel, executive director of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, the pact incorporates comprehensive investment protection standards and prohibits the host country from imposing additional investment restrictions. It also allows the host country to regulate trade in accordance with its domestic policies while recognizing values such as corporate social responsibility, cultural diversity, gender equality and labor rights.
According to the EY, the signing ceremony was attended by officials from the Financial Supervisory Commission; the Ministries of Economic Affairs, Finance, and Foreign Affairs; and business representatives from the two sides.
Tseng said during the event that the arrangement is the first such pact completed by Canada since the North American country revised its model investment agreement in 2021. It will help strengthen the two sides’ supply chain resilience while highlighting Taiwan’s importance in a global trade context, he added.
Following Tseng’s remarks, Nickel expressed similar sentiments and added that he believed that Taiwan and Canada will jointly create a better tomorrow for all.
The EY said in a statement released the same day that the pact follows a Taiwan-Canada arrangement for the avoidance of double taxation and fiscal evasion prevention inked in 2016. The investment promotion pact will further facilitate the access of Taiwan enterprises to the North American market, which covers a population of around 500 million, it added.
The current arrangement demonstrates Taiwan’s commitment to high-standard trade regulations to members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the EY added. (YCH-E)
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