The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has completed a tentative “early harvest” list that would be included in the cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) and is ready to negotiate the details with China.
The list will only be made public after it is finalized through negotiations between the two sides, Bureau of Foreign Trade Director-General Huang Chih-peng (黃志鵬) said.
TARGETED ITEMS
Although Huang declined to disclose the goods and services included on the list, he commented on the principles that guided the selection of the targeted items.
In the service sector, the MOEA has targeted areas that China agreed to open when gaining accession to the WTO but which remain inaccessible to Taiwan, Huang said.
Others targeted were services for which China has granted preferential tariffs to other countries, and those that are favorable to Taiwan, Huang said.
An ECFA impact assessment report released recently by the MOEA said the government could request that China open its market to financial, computer-related, research and development, logistics, civil aircraft maintenance and freight forwarding services from Taiwan.
In terms of products, Taiwan expects China to open its market to export items that are favorable to Taiwan but subject to high Chinese tariffs, Huang said.
Others are those for which China has granted preferential duties to its free-trade agreement partners, and sensitive goods that Taiwan hopes can be opened up flexibly, he said.
TRADE SURPLUS
Meanwhile, the bureau said on Tuesday that the nation’s trade surplus was likely to reach a record US$30 billion this year, as imports were expected to have plunged at an even faster rate than exports.
Exports, which fell nearly 32 percent in the first eight months of the year, are likely to be down by a more modest 15 percent to 20 percent for the full year, the bureau estimated.
Imports dropped nearly 40 percent in the first eight months and are forecast to fall by about 24 percent for the year as a whole, the bureau said.
“This year’s record trade surplus will make a palpable contribution to economic growth,” the bureau said in a statement.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said second-quarter revenue is expected to surpass the first quarter, which rose 30 percent year-on-year to NT$118.92 billion (US$3.71 billion). Revenue this quarter is likely to grow, as US clients have front-loaded orders ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Taiwanese goods, Delta chairman Ping Cheng (鄭平) said at an earnings conference in Taipei, referring to the 90-day pause in tariff implementation Trump announced on April 9. While situations in the third and fourth quarters remain unclear, “We will not halt our long-term deployments and do not plan to
RSS