Taiwanese officials in the US are optimistic that a recently concluded trade policy agreement between the Bush administration and the Democratic-led Congress will give Taiwan an important advantage over other countries if and when the US begins to consider a new round of free trade agreement (FTA) partners.
The heads of Taiwan's 11 Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices (TECRO) throughout the US convened in Washington on Tuesday to compare notes with Taiwan's leading Washington representatives on strategy to take the best advantage of the new trade agreement and to exchange notes on what each of the participants are doing to advance the nation's trade interests.
The administration of US President George W. Bush has so far refused to consider an FTA with Taiwan, a major priority in bilateral relations of the government of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). With a key US law that has facilitated a spate of recent FTAs with other countries about to expire at the end of next month, the Bush administration has suspended all FTA moves until the fate of the law is decided.
The Republican administration wants to extend the law -- the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), or Fast Track -- but the Democrats have generally been against a renewal. Last week, however, after months of bickering, the two sides reached an agreement with the Republicans conceding that labor, environmental and other protections that the Democrats have long sought be included.
That should be very good for Taiwan, which meets or exceeds global labor and environmental standards, while several countries with which Washington has inked FTAs do not, Taiwanese officials contend.
"We in Taiwan are very confident that as far as labor and environmental conditions are concerned, Taiwan should not have problems incorporating the requirements into a future trade deal," Francis K. H. Liang (
"We want to be sure that we are prepared and have convinced the US government that when they are considering the next round of FTA partners -- when they receive trade authorization through the TPA, or in any other form -- Taiwan would be on the priority list," Liang said.
In the Tuesday TECRO conference, which was chaired in part by Taiwan's de-facto ambassador to the US Joseph Wu (
The regional heads, in turn, were briefed by TECRO officers on new developments in US trade policy, including the so-called "new trade policy" announced by Congress and the administration, as well as the political debate on the extension of the TPA and details of a newly introduced concurrent resolution in the House of Representatives on bilateral FTAs, the news release said.
The Bush-Congress trade agreement includes for the first time legally enforceable labor conditions embodied in the declaration of the principles of the International Labor Office and seven international conventions on the environment and related issues, Liang said. Those provisions would guarantee workers the right to organize, ban child labor and prohibit forced labor.
However, Taiwanese officials conceded that labor and environmental issues were only a small part of the entire FTA equation. China's opposition to a US-Taiwan FTA and continuing trade tensions between Taipei and Washington, including on intellectual property issues, must be overcome before Taiwan can hope for any FTA with Washington.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
RSS