Gov`t to Set Up Effort Signing FTA With Major Trade Partners

November 12, 2009

Taipei, Nov. 12, 2009 (CENS)--With Taiwan and China on track to sign cross-Taiwan Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), the government will step up efforts seeking to sign free trade agreements (FTAs) with major trade partners, including the U.S., European Union, Japan, Canada, New Zealand/Australia, and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), said Shih Yen-shiang, economics minister, yesterday (Nov. 11).

Shih admitted, though, that such effort is still staying at the "door-knocking" stage and formal talk on FTA with those trade partners have yet to begin. Shih is attending the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum in Singapore, when he already held face-to-face meetings with Lim Hng Kiang, minister of trade and industry of Singapore, and Demetrios Marantis, deputy US trade representative. Marantis admitted that it`s unlikely to resume the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) between Taiwan and U.S. now, citing the uncertainty over U.S. beef import into Taiwan.

Taiwan put forth two key proposals during the ministerial meeting of APEC this year, including the establishment of APEC SME (small and medium enterprise) crisis management center, aimed to assist SME in crisis monitoring, diagnosis, trading, and handling capability, and the pushing of standards and mutual testing-report acknowledgement for energy-saving products, in order to cut costs.

The ministerial meeting on Nov. 12 will determine whether to include the two proposals into its resolution, which is certain to cover two other proposals of Taiwan, the continuing pushing of second-stage APEC digital center (ADC2.0) and the holding of calamity prevention seminar in Taipei in December.

(by Philip Liu)

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