Taiwan advised to use U.S.-South Korea FTA as model for TPP bid

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said Wednesday that the United States has suggested that Taiwan use the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA) as a model in its preparations for joining the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade bloc.

Taiwan has been upping its efforts to push for its TPP bid since last year, he said, adding that "we have been advised by the U.S. government that we could use the U.S-Korea FTA as a model for our participation."

He made the remarks in a question-and-answer session during a video conference with Stanford University, in response to questions about Taiwan's hopes of joining the proposed trade bloc led by the U.S.

The TPP is being negotiated by the U.S. and 11 other countries, which are all Taiwan's trading partners, he said. Bilateral trade between Taiwan and the 12 countries account for about 35 percent of Taiwan's foreign trade, meaning a total of US$200 billion per year, he added.

The president noted that none of the 12 countries are Taiwan's diplomatic allies, making it difficult for Taiwan to participate in the TPP.

But Taiwan will still continue to express its strong interest in the TPP and make efforts to push for its participation, he added.

To that end, "we have to prepare ourselves for that," he said. "We have to further liberalize our trade and deregulate our regulation."

Meanwhile, the government has set up an intra-government group and asked Taiwan's representatives overseas to return to attend a seminar last year, as part of the country's preparations for working to gain entry to the TPP.

The U.S. has said that it welcomes Taiwan's interest in the TPP, but noted that each economy interested in joining the trade bloc will have to meet the high standards of the agreement.

Ma described Taiwan's participation in the TPP as "a vital step to promote and reinvigorate trade and investment relations" with the United States.

Noting that Taiwan depends heavily on foreign trade, Ma said the country needs to catch up with its trading partners and competitors, citing South Korea as an example.

Only 10 percent of the goods Taiwan exports are covered by FTAs or similar trade agreements, compared with 35 percent in South Korea, he said, adding that the number for South Korea will increase even more after the China-South Korea FTA comes into force.

Warning that Taiwan could lose its competitiveness, the president cited the case of a trade-in-services pact signed between Taiwan and China in 2013 that is still stalled in the Legislature pending ratification.

"This is certainly a message our trading partners probably do not like to see," he said. They would hope that once a deal is negotiated and completed, it would receive proper arrangements in the parliament for the agreement to take effect, he added.

Ma expressed hope that issue of the trade-in-services pact will be solved before he steps down next year after competing his second four-year term. 

Source: Focus Taiwan