Australian parliamentary committee supports Taiwan's CPTPP bid

An Australian parliamentary committee has expressed support for Taiwan's application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc and also is advocating a free trade agreement between Canberra and Taipei, according to a report released Thursday.

In the report on expanding CPTPP membership, the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade said the Australian government, along with other CPTPP members, should facilitate Taiwan's accession.

The committee also suggested that the Australian government consider negotiating a bilateral free trade agreement with Taiwan.

Such an agreement would be beneficial to Australia in the fields of energy, agriculture, education and pandemic control, the committee said. A bilateral FTA would also allow the Australian government to learn from Taiwan about countering disinformation campaigns and building capacity against cyberattacks, the committee said.

"A lesson from our experience with the U.K. is that benefits accrue from negotiating a bilateral FTA and the CPTPP at the same time, and we see merit in replicating this approach with Taiwan," Parliamentarian Ted O'Brien, chair of the Trade Sub-Committee, was quoted as saying in a parliamentary press release.

The U.K. and China have also applied to join the CPTPP, and a review process for the former's accession is ongoing.

Regarding China, the Australian parliamentary committee stopped short of recommending its inclusion in the CPTPP.

Any support for China to enter the CPTPP would require that country to reestablish full trade relations with Australia, including "ending its coercive trade measures and reengaging in ministerial dialogue, and to demonstrate an ability and willingness to commit to the CPTPP's high standards," the committee said.

"The ball is in their court," O'Brien said in the committee's press release. "It's up to China if it wishes to re-engage with Australia, and I hope it does because that would enable the discussions that are necessary to determine whether an accession process should commence."

The CPTPP, which grew out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the U.S. left that pact in 2017, is one of the world's biggest trade blocs, representing a market of 500 million people and accounting for 13.5 percent of global trade.

Its 11 signatories are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Taiwan's application to join the CPTPP was submitted on Sept. 22, less than a week after China applied for membership in the trade group.

Source: FocusTaiwan