Ma welcomes potential Taiwan-EU investment pact

2015/10/19

President Ma Ying-jeou welcomed Oct. 15 a European Commission report stating the organization will explore launching negotiations with Taiwan on an investment agreement, saying he expects the plan to take bilateral trade to the next level.

“Relations between the two sides are progressing steadily,” Ma said. “The European Union became Taiwan’s fifth largest global trading partner last year, while Taiwan is the EU’s seventh largest in Asia. Two-way trade also saw a 3.7 percent increase year on year, reaching US$50.9 billion in 2014.

“This healthy state of affairs is further evidenced by our inclusion in the Enterprise Europe Network in May, opening the door to a wide array of business opportunities for Taiwan’s small and medium enterprises,” he added. “There is every reason to believe a bilateral investment agreement would further bolster this robust economic and trade partnership.”

Ma made the remarks during a Presidential Office conference in Taipei City, responding to an earlier EC report on the organization's strategy to expand trade globalization in Asia that listed Taiwan as a candidate for BIA negotiations.

The European Parliament passed a resolution in October 2013 urging the EC to begin talks with Taiwan on investment and economic cooperation agreements, the president said. During a Sept. 29 videoconference, the Brussels-based EP-Taiwan Friendship Group also voiced its support for enhancing exchanges.

“It is now a good time for the two sides to start talks to this end, as an investment accord would lay a firm foundation for both sides to advance ties in areas of mutual benefit and interest,” Ma said, citing the fact that European firms were the No. 1 source of foreign direct investment in Taiwan last year at US$33 billion.

According to the president, Taiwan is working to put all the liberalization and regulatory pieces in place for the realization of such agreements. Recent investment and trade pacts with Japan, New Zealand and Singapore, as well as the resumption of negotiations with the U.S. under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, underscore the government’s seriousness in this regard.

In addition, the robust Taiwan-EU trade partnership will benefit from the landmark Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed in 2010, as the greatly improved cross-strait ties are paying handsome dividends in the form of prosperity and regional stability, Ma said.

“Building on the common values of trade liberalization and economic integration, we expect to expand the scope of positive exchanges going forward and create a win-win situation for all.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=237855&ctNode=2194&mp=9)