AmCham concerned for foreign shippers

The foreign business community is pleased to see the government's recent push for cross-strait shipping links but also wants to ensure that foreign shipping companies are included, an executive of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) said yesterday.

"We welcome the start of Evergreen Corp's first cargo trans-shipment this week from Xiamen to Kaohsiung and to France," said Jeremy Foxon, co-chairman of AmCham's transportation committee, at a cross-strait affairs panel meeting for the upcoming Economic Development Advisory Conference yesterday.

"But at the same time Taiwan should also open up to foreign shipping lines."

The cross-strait affairs panel yesterday invited 15 foreign business representatives from AmCham, the European Council of Commerce and Trade and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry to talk about their views on economic and trade issues between China and Taiwan.

"This is a very good direction. The foreign community very much supports this and believes it will attract a lot of foreign investment," Foxon said. "But to do this, Taiwan needs to have direct links in the first place."

European trade representatives, led by Fabrice de Muratsaid, also said they welcome Taiwan's effort to further cross-strait shipping links. They said many foreign shipping lines are increasing their investments in the Kaohsiung cargo harbor in preparation for the eventual opening.

But they are also worried about local media reports that say foreign firms won't be able to participate in direct shipping links.

The panel's co-convener Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council, said the issue will be brought up at the economic conference for discussion. The council will also discuss the matter further with the relevant government agencies, including the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

Substantial obstacles remain before direct links can open, as Beijing has so far given no signs that it will make any political compromise to make the process go smoothly.

Still, foreign businesses are upbeat about the recent developments and placed the direct links as their "primary focus for discussion" at yesterday's meeting, said Richard Vuylsteke, executive director of AmCham. He said the government's relaxation of the cross-strait links ban is a giant step forward for the country.

"[Will] direct links be good for Taiwan in commercial sense? I think the answer, of course, is yes, because it saves time and money for businessmen," he said.

"But actually the answer is much more complex, because the real issue about the [big three] links is the competitiveness of Taiwan."