Taiwan ranked ninth-most competitive market this year among 42 economies in terms of trade freedom, convenience, ease and lack of risk, a poll of local exporters and importers showed yesterday.
The survey was released for a third year by the Importers and Exporters Association of Taipei (IEAT, 台北市進出口公會), but it is the first time Taiwan has been added to the survey after the implementation of the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA).
“The ECFA was the main reason for respondents to recommend Taiwan as one of the most competitive markets,” said Leu Horng-der (呂鴻德), a business administration professor at Chung Yuan Christian University who led the research survey on behalf of the IEAT, at a media briefing.
However, the research showed there was room for Taiwan to improve convenience in the process of customs clearance and customs valuation, he said.
Leu expects Taiwan’s rank to go up in the survey next year, as the effect of the ECFA’s “early harvest” list of tariff cuts could increase the nation’s competitiveness.
“But it depends on how well and how far the execution of the ECFA goes,” he said.
David Hong (洪德生), president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院), also said Taiwan should enhance its competitiveness by pursuing more free-trade agreements (FTA) with other countries.
Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada were picked to be the top three competitive places to conduct foreign trade, while Israel and Qatar were the most competitive emerging markets, the report showed.
In Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth highest, lower than Japan (seventh), but higher than China (17th) and South Korea (22nd), the report showed.
“Singapore and Hong Kong topped the list because these small countries depend more on trade, with their complete infrastructure and mature financial systems fully conducive to trade activity,” Leu said.
The research showed that trade momentum in emerging Asian markets remained stronger than developed countries, IEAT chairman Liu Kuo-chao (劉國昭) said.
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