The US Congress is expected to consider a new proposal for a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan this year, a US-based organization has said.
While it remains unlikely that a bill will pass this year, the tactic is to create enough momentum to give it a fighting chance next year.
News of the proposed bill surfaced following US President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, during which he called on Congress to pass an FTA with South Korea “as soon as possible.”
Republicans, who now control the House of Representatives, also want to consider FTAs with Panama and Colombia before June.
With those agreements out of the way and Connecticut independent Senator Joseph Lieberman now pushing for a vote on a congressional resolution urging quick approval of all three trade pacts, the proposed Taiwan FTA would move up the line.
Coen Blaauw, executive director of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), told the Taipei Times his organization would seek to introduce a Taiwan Free Trade bill in the next few months.
They hope to attract a coalition of sponsors from the Taiwan Caucus and the Ways and Means Committee, which would be called upon to consider the bill.
“We need to kickstart the Free Trade Agreement for Taiwan and give it some momentum,” Blaauw said. “It’s an idea whose time has come. We are encouraged by President Obama’s support of the [South] Korean FTA. And after that, it will be Taiwan’s turn.”
Blaauw, who has already sounded out Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill about the proposed bill, said that it was important not only to boost trade but also “for Taiwan’s survival as a country.”
He said there were fears that China might eventually use the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) to “blackmail” Taiwan and that an FTA with the US would provide Taipei with “freedom” to deal with such a move.
A study published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics on a Taiwan FTA found that Taiwan “has a special status for the US as both a leading high-technology economic partner and a place of political and security concern.”
The study looked at both the economic benefits and at the potential impact that an FTA would have on “securing a prosperous and secure future for Taiwan.”
A final analysis indicated that the direct economic benefits would be “modest” and that an FTA would be most valuable to the US if it “leads Taiwan toward greater regional integration.”
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS