The US recently concluded a free-trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea. Under the agreement, more than 90 percent of bilateral trade in industrial and consumer goods will become duty-free three years after it comes into force, with remaining tariffs eliminated within 10 years. Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) estimates show that the FTA between the US and South Korea will have an estimated US$2 billion impact on Taiwan, or approximately 5 percent of its total exports, a spokesman of said on Tuesday.
In fact, the agreement will have a domino effect. Regional economic integration will become the major strategy for countries to strengthen their economic competitiveness and attract foreign investment.
As for Taiwan, China's macroeconomic development strategy and the "one China" principle have had a negative effect on Taiwan's participation in the process of regional integration.
Facing Chinese obstructionism, the manner in which Taipei enters FTA negotiations with Washington will be of utmost importance. This strategy can use the WTO's legal system and institutions to develop the FTA with the US.
Washington wants a tighter trade bloc in the region, mostly among APEC members. Its FTA strategy, which focuses on the political, economic and strategic, is meant to protect its interests in the region by developing more dialogues with ASEAN member states.
For its part, Taiwan can use its own prestige in areas such as economic liberty, market openness and geopolitical status as trading chips to highlight the value of regional trade investment. A Taiwan-US FTA would support the formation of an APEC-wide FTA, from which regional development could ensue.
To demonstrate its political will to the US, Taiwan must offer a comprehensive economic liberalization plan and adopt a more realistic strategy to overcome political obstacles. Giving more importance to creating a trade and investment framework in which Taiwan and the US can evolve would be a way to achieve this.
Beside the protection of intellectual property, rice import quotas and limits on access to the nation's pharmaceutical market, Taiwan can offer cooperation on regional investment, ICT standards, financial supervisory systems and training.
The nation needs to build the communication mechanism whereby it can enter into talks with US entrepreneurs in favor of a Taiwan-US FTA.
Tsai Horng ming is the deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Federation of Industries.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS