The American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (AmCham) yesterday proposed a Taiwan commercial initiative (TCI) that would elevate Taiwan-US economic ties to a new level, and possibly lead to a bilateral trade agreement (BTA).
The chamber unveiled the plan during a virtual news conference scheduled for the release of its annual position paper, which calls for the initiative and a stable electricity supply, among other demands.
The trade group, which has 1,000 members from more than 500 foreign firms, said that the position paper outlines for Washington a six-track strategic approach to the enhancement of Taiwan-US economic and business relations.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
“The stars are aligning for a sharp upgrade in US-Taiwan economic relations... AmCham is calling for more platforms and more private sector involvement through the TCI,” chamber president Andrew Wylegala said.
The first track has been achieved, following an announcement by the two sides that Trade and Investment Framework Agreement council meetings are to resume, the chamber said, adding that it had vigorously pushed for the talks to resume since their suspension four years ago.
The TCI calls for an expansion of the Taiwan-US Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue initiated by the US Department of State in November last year by encompassing business participation, it said.
The TCI urges the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the US Department of Commerce to build transaction-oriented platforms promoting two-way trade and investment, include Taiwan in a multilateral economic agreement and establish a Taiwan-US pact on double taxation, it added.
The work streams reinforce each other and pave the way to the ultimate goal: a US-Taiwan trade agreement, it said.
The next few years might witness the biggest and most positive transformation in Taiwan’s economic links with the world since the Taiwan Relations Act in the 1970s and its entry into the WTO in the 2000’s, chamber chairman C.W. Chin (金奇偉) said, adding that the chamber is eager to make its contribution.
The position paper underscores pressing concerns, such as accelerating Taiwan’s digital transformation, bolstering its supply chains and ensuring a stable supply of energy as Taiwan seeks to transform its energy mix by 2025.
The paper advocates for the creation of a sovereign wealth fund that would draw on Taiwan’s large foreign reserves and increase its international profile.
AmCham called on the US government to allocate more surplus vaccines to Taiwan and to facilitate delivery from other sources, saying that Taiwan deserves to secure a steady supply of vaccine doses to protect its population in the wake of the recent local virus outbreak.
To transform Taiwan into an international destination, the chamber said that English classes in Taiwanese schools should focus on comprehension and oral communication, not on spelling and grammar, as has long been the local education model.
Taiwan should be more open to English-language multimedia content and incorporate online learning at all levels of its education system, as the nation would never be able to hire enough English teachers for all Taiwanese children, it said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last