Saying that few problems exist in business and trade exchanges between Taiwan and the US, a Taiwanese economic official said on Thursday that he was confident Taiwan would win the US private sector's support for the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
While fielding questions during an online forum "A Path Worth Taking? The Prospects and Challenges of a US-Taiwan Free Trade Deal," on the Washington Post's Web site, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Hsieh Fa-dah (謝發達) said Taiwan's government had already reformed many of its policies regarding the few trade barriers cited by the US, including those in the pharmaceuticals sector, as well as strengthened its intellectual property rights protection.
"We are confident that the resolution of such issues will help to increase support among US industries for negotiations on a Taiwan-US FTA," Hsieh said.
Asked whether a Taiwan-US bilateral agreement would be viewed by the Chinese as a direct economic threat, Hsieh responded that Taiwan had no objection to the US granting China preferential trade treatment, such as Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status.
Hsieh said that since many Taiwanese enterprises have invested in China and have connections there, the two sides have developed an increasingly interdependent economic relationship over the past few decades, Taiwan believes that a benign economic relationship between the US and China is beneficial for Taiwan because it creates a "win-win-win situation" for the three parties.
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