An executive committee was established in Taipei yesterday to oversee the execution of a Taiwan-Guatemala free trade agreement (FTA) that took effect on July 1.
Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (
Chen said the committee will be charged with handling matters related to the FTA, including addressing bilateral trade disputes.
At its meeting yesterday the committee passed unified "country of origin" certification forms and enforcement rules for resolving trade disputes under the FTA.
The agreement is the second such accord Taiwan has signed following a similar earlier pact with Panama. It is also Guatemala's first FTA with an Asian country.
Describing the two countries' economies as complementary to each other, Chen said the free trade pact will spawn new business opportunities for both sides, with Guatemalan farm produce finding new markets in Taiwan while Taiwan's industrial goods will enter Guatemala on better terms.
Under the FTA, Chen said, Taiwan has agreed to offer an annual 60,000 tonne quota for Guatemalan sugar, which, besides benefiting Guatemalan farmers, is expected to help stabilize domestic sugar prices.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
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