President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday attributed the nation’s lagging behind South Korea and Singapore in signing free-trade agreements (FTAs) to obstruction from China, as he was urged to push for trade liberalization.
During a visit with New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) at Singtex Industrial Co in the municipality’s Sinjhuang District (新莊), Singtex president Chin Kuo-chin (陳國欽) called on the Ma administration to speed up negotiations over a trade deal with China under the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and FTAs with other nations.
“No one wants to sign an agreement with Taiwan,” Ma said in response, adding, however, that many nations are interested in trade with the nation
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
“It is all because of the politics at play,” Ma said. “Therefore, we need to complete the signing of [subsequent agreements under the] ECFA to create room for negotiations with other nations over free-trade deals.”
Taiwan has lagged far behind South Korea and Singapore in this regard, Ma said.
As an export-oriented economy with a small domestic market, Taiwan needs to open itself up, he added.
“We cannot just close the door and feel complacent,” Ma said.
The number of nations that have established an FTA-like trade mechanism with Taiwan was brought to seven last year after trade pacts with New Zealand and Singapore were signed.
Previously, Taiwan held similar agreements with five diplomatic allies in Central America — Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras.
Although Taiwan — a WTO member — is entitled to sign trade agreements with other WTO members, the deals signed with New Zealand and Singapore came only after the ECFA was signed in 2010.
One of the reasons that Beijing did not interfere with the deals is believed to be that Singapore and New Zealand already have trade pacts with China, reports and analysts have said.
Under the ECFA, Taiwan and China in 2011 began reducing or eliminating tariffs on imports itemized in what is known as the “early harvest list,” while they agreed to continue negotiations on investments and trade in goods and services.
The Cross-Strait Bilateral Protection and Promotion Agreement took effect early last year. The cross-strait service trade agreement has been stalled in the legislature pending ratification since it was signed in July last year.
Recently resumed negotiations over an agreement on trade in goods had been hampered by a delay in ratifying the service trade agreement caused by the student-led Sunflower movement in March and April. The movement focused public anger on the government’s handling of what protesters called “backroom” cross-strait negotiations.
Taipei and Beijing have yet to begin talks over a proposed mechanism to settle cross-strait disputes, another ECFA follow-up agreement.
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