Taiwan shouldn’t hurry to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China unless Beijing promises not to block the country’s chances of also inking bilateral agreements with ASEAN countries, said Liang Kuo-yuan (梁國源), president of Polaris Research Institute (寶華綜合經濟研究院).
“We should wait and keep negotiating with China,” Liang told the Taipei Times last week. “We’ve got to try to get China’s understanding or promise that it will let Taiwan sign other kinds of [economic] framework [agreements] with ASEAN countries.”
Liang said both Singapore and Vietnam — albeit they are exceptional cases — should have an interest in signing bilateral agreements with Taiwan after the ECFA with China is signed.
He said Taiwan should be at ease if its economic relationship with China was similar to the relationship between an elder brother and a younger brother.
“However, our relationship with China should never turn into that of a father and his son,” Lai warned.
Citing an Asian Development Bank report in 2007, Liang said Taiwan would be negatively impacted by the implementation of ASEAN Plus One, followed by ASEAN Plus Two and Three.
It will therefore be important for the economy that Taiwan finds ways to penetrate the Asian trade bloc because ASEAN Plus Three accounts for more than 40 percent of the world’s population, he said.
An ECFA with China won’t be powerful enough for the nation to enhance ties with ASEAN countries if Taiwan is blocked from inking pacts with individual ASEAN countries or the bloc as a whole, he said.
Despite the fact an ECFA is expected to trigger capital inflows to Taiwan, Liang said he expects the central bank will keep the New Taiwan dollar’s exchange rate as stable as possible, within a range of NT$31.5 and NT$32.3 against the US dollar.
“NT$31.5 may be the highest threshold the central bank could tolerate,” Liang said.
He reiterated his view that the central bank will not raise interest rates before June given that the economic recovery is still nascent.
“The economy has improved, but don’t get too excited about it,” he said.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RSS