Having received approval from lawmakers in both countries, a long-discussed trade pact between Taiwan and New Zealand will take effect on Dec. 1, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Wednesday.
The Agreement between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Cooperation (ANZTEC) became Taiwan’s first trade deal with a country that does not have diplomatic ties with Taipei when the two sides signed it on July 10.
The ANZTEC is thought to represent an important step forward for trade-oriented Taiwan’s long-term development.
In addition to tariff elimination and greater service market access, the pact contains 25 chapters that cover a wide range of topics. Among those are labor, environment, open skies air links, film and television co-production, and exchanges between the indigenous peoples of both countries.
The conclusion of the trade agreement brings Taiwan one step closer to pursuing entry into regional trade blocs and forging deeper connections in the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Initial ANZTEC tariff reductions are expected to boost Taiwan’s GDP by US$303 million, according to the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research’s estimate. It would create 6,255 jobs in Taiwan and spur an increase in production value across all sectors totaling NT$35.63 billion (US$1.2 billion), the institution predicted.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
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