Lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously passed an initial agreement reached under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century that focused on basic trade facilitation and transparency standards and procedures.
Thanking the legislators for their support, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed her hope on Facebook that the agreement could create more business opportunities for Taiwan and contribute to a more secure global supply chain.
Referring to Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), Executive Yuan spokesman Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) said the passage, which followed the US Senate’s approval of the pact on Tuesday last week, should pave the way for stronger bilateral trade relations.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan and the US signed the first set of terms under the initiative on June 1, which was focused on making customs, border procedures and regulatory practices more efficient with an aim to make bilateral trade easier, faster, and more transparent.
Under the agreement, which does not cover tariff reductions or exemptions, Taiwan and the US committed to facilitate bilateral trade and investment flows, promote anti-corruption measures, minimize unnecessary border formalities, and encourage the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The deal also stipulated the establishment of a “foundation” allowing both sides to address trade and investment challenges and opportunities over time.
The Legislative Yuan, which is holding an extraordinary session from July 17 to 31, completed committee discussions and review of the agreement Thursday last week. Following Wednesday’s development, Legislative Yuan said the two countries will continue negotiations on more complicated issues, such as agriculture, digital trade, labor, environmental, and non-market policies and practices, as well as state-owned enterprises and standards.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
RSS