Taiwan will promote more robust trade relations with the EU, but so far bilateral discussions on signing a Trade Enhancement Measure (TEM) have not be launched, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
It did not provide any explanation as to why the trade pact the European Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (ECCT) has called for since August had not materialized.
The Korea Times on Monday reported that South Korea and the 27-nation bloc concluded their talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) and that their pact could enter into force as early as the beginning of next year.
Both sides have held intense negotiations since 2007 on an accord to slash tariffs and other trade barriers. The EU is South Korea’s second-largest trade partner after China, with bilateral trade totaling US$98.4 billion last year.
South Korean officials said that the deal would create 600,000 jobs in South Korea and raise its GDP by US$18 billion in the long term, the Korea Times reported.
Two months ago, during a European Day luncheon in Taipei, ECCT chairman Philippe Pellegrin urged President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who attended the function, to accelerate the pace of dialogue with the EU on a TEM, which he said had much support from Taiwanese businesspeople.
Pellegrin said the imminent FTA between South Korea and the EU could have a negative impact on Taiwan’s competitiveness in key industrial sectors such as machinery and flat-screen manufacturing.
In his address, Ma said that “Taiwan also agrees with the ECCT’s suggestion of exploring TEM with the EU,” adding that Taiwan wished to start consultations on a TEM soon.
So far, the European Economic and Trade Office has not made any public statement regarding the proposal and the office said it could not comment on the matter because office head Guy Ledoux is out of the country.
Despite numerous questions on the subject at a press conference yesterday, MOFA spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) did not elaborate on the TEM.
“It is MOFA’s goal to fortify trade relations with any region or individual country,” he said. “We are working on it, but there are some problems.”
Chen declined to elaborate on the “problems.”
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is