The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Panamanian trade officials said yesterday that the two nations have concluded negotiations on signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after a fifth round of talks.
The agreement will be the first FTA to be concluded by Taiwan.
The agreement will be officially signed on Aug. 21 by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso, during the latter's trip to Taipei. It will take effect on Jan. 1 next year.
"It's a milestone for both countries," Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) told reporters yesterday.
"I expect the signing of the pact will raise the relationship between the two nations to a higher level." Lin said.
Lin's counterpart, Panama's Minister for International Trade Joaquin Jacome, was also delighted by the conclusion of what is his country's second FTA.
"The treaty will not only strengthen the two countries' diplomatic ties, but also help Panama's economy by providing a gateway for Panamanian goods to the rest of Asia," Jacome said.
Under the treaty, both countries agree to open their markets in agricultural and industrial commodities and the service and financial sectors
The immediate impact of the agreement on the economies of both sides will be in customs revenue.
When the agreement goes into effect, 6,200 categories, or 71 percent of Taiwanese products exported to Panama will become duty free, while the same tariff-free measure will also applied on 4,160 categories, or 48.49 percent of Panamanian goods exported to Taiwan.
Overall, 97 percent of exports from Taiwan to Panama will be duty free, while taxes on 95 percent of Panamanian goods in Taiwan will also be cut to zero by 2014.
Academics praised the conclusion of the FTA, saying that Taiwan will gain more from the agreement owing to the larger quantity and variety of goods it exports.
"Exports from Panama will not be significantly grow because of the duty-free measure since Panama only exports 24 categories of products to Taiwan," said Wu Rong-i (吳榮義), president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. "Also, they have to compete with goods from China, Hong Kong and South Korea."
Currently, Panama ranks 70th among Taiwan's trading partners, with over US$42 million in bilateral trade for the year to May. Last year, imports of Taiwanese goods in Panama amounted to US$123 million, and Panamanian exports to Taiwan US$4.8 million.
Taiwan, however, can also use Panama as a channel to exploit and integrate the massive South American market, Wu said. The economic benefits will multiply after Panama is included in the Free-Trade Agreement of the Americas, which is the biggest inter-regional trade zone in the world, Wu said.
Another academic said, however, that the political benefits brought by the trade pact will be much larger than any economic ones.
"The move will enhance a willingness among other countries to sign FTAs with Taiwan; many were reluctant to be Taiwan's first free trade partner out of political considerations," said Daniel Liu (
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS