The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Panamanian trade officials said yesterday that the two nations have concluded negotiations on signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after a fifth round of talks.
The agreement will be the first FTA to be concluded by Taiwan.
The agreement will be officially signed on Aug. 21 by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso, during the latter's trip to Taipei. It will take effect on Jan. 1 next year.
"It's a milestone for both countries," Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) told reporters yesterday.
"I expect the signing of the pact will raise the relationship between the two nations to a higher level." Lin said.
Lin's counterpart, Panama's Minister for International Trade Joaquin Jacome, was also delighted by the conclusion of what is his country's second FTA.
"The treaty will not only strengthen the two countries' diplomatic ties, but also help Panama's economy by providing a gateway for Panamanian goods to the rest of Asia," Jacome said.
Under the treaty, both countries agree to open their markets in agricultural and industrial commodities and the service and financial sectors
The immediate impact of the agreement on the economies of both sides will be in customs revenue.
When the agreement goes into effect, 6,200 categories, or 71 percent of Taiwanese products exported to Panama will become duty free, while the same tariff-free measure will also applied on 4,160 categories, or 48.49 percent of Panamanian goods exported to Taiwan.
Overall, 97 percent of exports from Taiwan to Panama will be duty free, while taxes on 95 percent of Panamanian goods in Taiwan will also be cut to zero by 2014.
Academics praised the conclusion of the FTA, saying that Taiwan will gain more from the agreement owing to the larger quantity and variety of goods it exports.
"Exports from Panama will not be significantly grow because of the duty-free measure since Panama only exports 24 categories of products to Taiwan," said Wu Rong-i (吳榮義), president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. "Also, they have to compete with goods from China, Hong Kong and South Korea."
Currently, Panama ranks 70th among Taiwan's trading partners, with over US$42 million in bilateral trade for the year to May. Last year, imports of Taiwanese goods in Panama amounted to US$123 million, and Panamanian exports to Taiwan US$4.8 million.
Taiwan, however, can also use Panama as a channel to exploit and integrate the massive South American market, Wu said. The economic benefits will multiply after Panama is included in the Free-Trade Agreement of the Americas, which is the biggest inter-regional trade zone in the world, Wu said.
Another academic said, however, that the political benefits brought by the trade pact will be much larger than any economic ones.
"The move will enhance a willingness among other countries to sign FTAs with Taiwan; many were reluctant to be Taiwan's first free trade partner out of political considerations," said Daniel Liu (
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
A bipartisan group of US representatives have introduced a draft US-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership bill, aimed at accelerating defense technology collaboration between Taiwan and the US in response to ongoing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The bill was introduced by US representatives Zach Nunn and Jill Tokuda, with US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar and US Representative Ashley Hinson joining as original cosponsors, a news release issued by Tokuda’s office on Thursday said. The draft bill “directs the US Department of Defense to work directly with Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense through their respective
Tsunami waves were possible in three areas of Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Services said yesterday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the nearby Kuril Islands. “The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in Hawaii said there was no tsunami warning after the quake. The Russian tsunami alert was later canceled. Overnight, the Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka erupted for the first time in 600 years, Russia’s RIA
RSS