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 first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS