The nation has a chance of joining the second round of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2020 at the earliest, but political uncertainties in each CPTPP member nation remain a potential hurdle, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
“The political challenge is more difficult than getting Taiwan’s economic and trade environment ready when it comes to negotiating with each CPTPP member,” Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) told lawmakers at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee.
During the APEC leaders’ summit in Vietnam earlier this month, trade ministers from 11 Asia-Pacific nations announced that they would push head with a regional free-trade deal following the US’ withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and rename the trade initiative the CPTPP.
The new pact can take effect 60 days after any six of the 11 nations complete domestic ratifications and the ministry estimates that could be before the end of next year, Wang said.
The chances of Taiwan becoming the 12th member of the CPTPP is slim, as the new regional trade agreement was initiated by 11 existing members of the TPP.
Taiwan could work on gaining the approval of each of the 11 nations after the CPTPP takes effect, which is estimated to be 2020 at the earliest, more than one year after the agreement takes effect, Wang said.
The most challenging part would be receiving the approval of the 11 nations because they would each propose their own terms for Taiwan to meet, she said.
For instance, Wang said it would be inevitable in negotiations with Japan that Taiwan would have to consider lifting the ban on food products from five Japanese prefectures due to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster in March 2011.
It is also possible that Taiwan might face political interference from China when it is in bilateral talks with the 11 nations, she said.
Meanwhile, Wang said that the suspension of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement negotiations between Taiwan and the US this year was because of the US has not yet approved the nominees for deputy trade representative posts.
“The relationship between Taiwan and the US remains unchanged. The talks are simply being delayed by the personnel reshuffle in Washington,” Wang said in response to lawmakers’ concerns.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks