83% of US businesses back Taiwan's bid to join TPP

Over 80% of American businesses in Taiwan say they support the government's intention of joining the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement to enhance Taiwan's growth prospects, according to a survey released Thursday.

The 2015 Business Climate Survey, conducted for the fifth year by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham Taipei), found that 68% of respondents believe Taiwan is capable of meeting the high standards required for TPP membership, and a resounding 83% of all respondents encourage Taiwan to pursue that goal to avoid economic marginalization.

Respondents said they are confident the best way for Taiwan to sign free trade agreements with other economies is to increase its ability to attract foreign investment and boost trade by liberalizing its market and implementing international standards.

Taiwan has expressed interest in joining the second round of talks in the TPP, a comprehensive trade pact being negotiated by 12 countries, including the United States.

"The pace will need to be accelerated to enhance Taiwan's chances for eventual inclusion in the Trans-Pacific Partnership," wrote AmCham Chairman Thomas Fann in the survey.

"But whether or not TPP membership materializes, liberalization would improve Taiwan's ability to compete effectively in global markets," he said.

"We hope that we may look forward to the vigorous adoption of economic reform initiatives in the coming year, including implementation of the Free Economic Pilot Zone plan, to further strengthen Taiwan's future economic outlook."

The annual AmCham survey also revealed that 66% of respondents see the lack of a US-Taiwan bilateral investment agreement as a disadvantage for Taiwan, including 20% who view it as a "major" disadvantage.

Asked about the effects of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed between Taiwan and China in 2010, 39% said it had "some positive" impact on Taiwan.

Another 21% of respondents saw it as having a "very positive" effect on Taiwan, up from 13% last year and the year before. Another 13% said the pact had a "very positive" impact on their own business, compared with just 4% last year and 5% in 2013.

On the controversial post-ECFA trade-in-services agreement signed in 2013 but not yet cleared by Taiwan's Legislature, 60% of respondents said that implementing the agreement would be key to benefitting Taiwan.

The survey also listed US business people's least favorite aspects of living in Taiwan. Food safety concerns ranked first even though it was a new option on this year's survey, followed by the lack of an English-friendly environment in second and issues with banking and other financial services in third.

AmCham Taipei reached out to its more than 400 representatives to seek their views in the survey. Most of them are general managers, CEOs and senior managers at their companies. Some 245 of the select representatives responded to the survey.

Source: Want China Times