Ma calls for acceleration of trade pacts

2014-07-30

Time is of the essence in sealing regional trade pacts, President Ma Ying-jeou said July 28 on the final day of the national conference on trade and economic affairs in Taipei City.

The next two years will be crucial to the nation’s economic development amid relentless globalization and trade liberalization, Ma said.

“A flurry of economic integration initiatives is underway in the Asia-Pacific region. With negotiations on Trans-Pacific Partnership and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership scheduled for finalization in the next two years, Taiwan cannot afford to waste time on internal strife.”

With mainland China and South Korea scheduled to finalize a free trade agreement by the end of this year, Taiwan’s industrial sector will come under serious pressure if the nation falls behind in forging similar pacts, he added.

“As long as we stand together and coordinate our efforts in international participation, Taiwan can still catch up on regional integration and reduce the potential effect of any South Korea-mainland China FTA.”

Co-organized by the National Development Council and Ministry of Economic Affairs, the national conference was a platform for all segments of society to voice their opinions on Taiwan’s economic development in the context of regional economic integration and cross-strait trade exchanges.

During the three-day conference, participants proposed 36 points of consensus. Key results for trade liberalization included accelerating the legislative process of the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement and fast-tracking a supervisory mechanism for subsequent cross-strait pacts.

Measures were also proposed to minimize the number of disadvantaged groups at risk from globalization and strengthen Taiwan’s cultural and economic independence.

The consensus is corroborated by recent polls, Ma said. According to a Mainland Affairs Council survey, 63 percent of respondents support the supervisory mechanism draft currently under review in the Legislature. In addition, NDC statistics show that three months after the student protests ended, more people now support than oppose the cross-strait services pact. (YHC-SDH)

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=220130&CtNode=413)