Top government officials reiterated yesterday the government’s determination to secure an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China after reports of a delay in the effort sent TAIEX tumbling on Monday.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) told the business community there was no delay in the preparation for inking the pact that is expected to help Taiwanese businesspeople obtain more favorable tax terms when conducting trade with China, among other benefits.
“Please have confidence in the government,” Liu told a breakfast meeting with the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC, 工商協進會). “Our attitude toward the ECFA remains unchanged and officials are in control of the progress,” he said.
On Monday, the TAIEX fell 239.04 points, or 3.53 percent, to 6,530.82 after Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan’s (賴幸媛) weekend comments in the US that the pact would not be on the agenda of the next round of cross-strait talks later this year.
Lai’s comments dampened anticipation that the agreement would be signed by the end of the year, ahead of the inauguration of the ASEAN-China free trade area next year.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Chinese-language Commercial Times on Monday, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said the ECFA would probably be signed next year.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said yesterday that Ma had not tried to put the brakes on the signing of the ECFA this year.
Ma said in May that signing an ECFA was an urgent issue, and he expected the pact to be signed by the end of this year.
Wang said that Ma had not set a timetable for signing the ECFA deal and his comments came after a general assessment of the schedule of cross-strait talks.
“The signing of an ECFA required more discussions and negotiations ... We did not put the brakes on the issue and there’s no political maneuvers involved,” Wang said.
It would be difficult to sign the ECFA during the fourth round of cross-strait talks this year because formal negotiations have not begun yet, he said.
However, Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) said yesterday the ministry was well ahead of schedule in studying the issues that will be involved in the negotiations.
Yiin said the ministry asked the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中經院) to study the proposed pact and its impact. The study, which was completed last month, will be released later this month, he said.
CIER was also scheduled to study a potential framework agreement together with China’s Association of Economy and Trade Across the Taiwan Straits in September, Yiin said, adding that representatives were expected to begin negotiations on the issue in October.
Yiin also said he would discuss the issue with Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming (陳德銘) next week on the sidelines of an APEC trade ministers meeting in Singapore.
Theodore Huang (黃茂雄), who hosted the breakfast meeting, said the government’s assurance substantially eased his concerns.
He said he hoped the government would speed up the ECFA talks, although he understood the importance of prudence in the negotiations.
“The sooner the government inks the ECFA, the better Taiwanese firms can maintain their competitive edge, given the increasing importance of China in the global economy,” Huang said.
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