Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) sought to secure preferential import duties from Canada for goods and services at a meeting of the APEC forum in Chile on Friday and Saturday, ministry officials said yesterday.
Over the past two days in Pucon, Chile, Ho met with her counterparts from Canada, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan for bilateral talks. In her talks with the Canadian minister of international trade and investment, Ho sought preferential import duties for Taiwanese goods and services.
The Canadian minister, meanwhile, urged Ho to see to it that Taipei removes the import ban on Canadian beef and related products as quickly as possible, according to ministry officials.
During the talks with her counterpart from Indonesia, Ho invited the Indonesian APEC delegation to take part in the First APEC Incubator Forum to be held in Taipei from July 30 until Aug. 1.
Ho also expressed concern over Indonesia's restriction on imports of live birds from Taiwan. The Indonesian official agreed that Jakarta will handle the matter based on the regulations set forth by the World Organization for Animal Health.
Consensus was reached with Indonesia over bilateral cooperation in the textile and garment industries to jointly meet the new globally competitive situation after the world's textile quota systems are removed.
Ho also urged the Japanese government to remove the import ban on live birds from Taiwan and nullify an order requiring mandatory checks on imported live eels, according to ministry officials.
In talks with her Japanese counterpart, Ho stressed increasing substantive cooperation between the two countries industrial sectors in order to pave the way for a free trade agreement.
Ho exchanged views with Singapore's Minister of Trade and Industry Yeo Yang Boon on the possibility of cooperation to develop regional distribution centers. She also supported Yeo's idea for a n APEC free-trade zone.
Yeo said APEC has served a vital role in terms of exchanging information and sorting out differences, and should be further strengthened by encouraging free-trade agreements among its members.
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