Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) said yesterday that some form of economic framework with China was inevitable to avoid being marginalized.
Without such a framework, industries such as textiles, petrochemicals and heavy machinery would relocate overseas, creating massive unemployment and creating gaps in critical supply chains, Yiin said at the first of 22 public hearings on the government’s plan to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China.
“The public misunderstands the Ministry of Economic Affairs and thinks that we’re pro-China. The reality is our biggest trading partner has always been the US, and we know it,” Yiin said.
He said a study conducted by the IMF showed that the Taiwanese and the US’ “economic elasticity was 1.2, which means if the US economy were to rise by 1 percent, our economy would rise by 1.2 percent, and vice versa.”
Yiin told the more than 250 businesspeople attending yesterday’s meeting that an ECFA with China was urgently needed or Taiwan might be left out of any favorable trade agreement with ASEAN and the rest of the world.
Over the past decade, members of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan and even India had all signed agreements with China, he said.
Taiwan has not been able to join AFTA. Although it has tried to sign free-trade agreements with countries such as the US, Japan, Singapore and South Korea, its efforts have failed because of pressure from China.
“ECFA is simply a term that is still awaiting approval by the Chinese. Taiwan cannot sign a Closer Economic Partnership Agreement with China because that is a one- country agreement between the mainland and Hong Kong,” he said.
“We cannot sign a free-trade agreement because it would mean allowing a free flow of goods and services between two countries, and Taiwan is not ready at this point,” Yiin said.
Taipei and Beijing are still evaluating the pros and cons of proceeding with such a long-term arrangement and have not even begun direct dialogue yet, he said.
Yiin promised that signing an ECFA would not mean sacrificing Taiwan’s sovereignty because the issue would not even be part of the ECFA discussions.
Chinese agricultural products and workers will not be part of the trade talks, he said.
Representatives of the leather association, shoe association,and the confectionery, biscuit and floury food association voiced concern that the government might balk during trade talks with China instead of protecting their interests, media reports said yesterday.
Taiwan Footwear Manufacturers Association (台灣製鞋品發展協會) chairman Chiao Chien-ho (趙建和) said his group hoped the government would drop the ECFA idea because the pact would damage the industry.
The groups said they wanted written guarantees from the government to protect their industries.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he