El Salvador's approval on Friday of a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan means the Central American country will eventually enjoy tariff-free privileges for sugar exports of up to 60,000 tonnes to Taiwan.
The FTA is expected to take effect on Jan. 1 next year if the Legislative Yuan approves it by the end of the year.
In addition to the deal with El Salvador, Taiwan has signed FTAs with Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras, with some pending legislative approval.
Since the FTA with Panama took effect, Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (
Trade with Guatemala has grown by 25 percent since the pact took effect six months ago, he said.
He said he expected trade with El Salvador to grow substantially after the FTA becomes effective.
El Salvadoran President Antonio Saca and President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen Shui-bian, visiting El Salvador on the second leg of his three-nation trip to Central America, said at the press conference he hoped the legislature would review the FTA as soon as possible in the next legislative session.
Describing Taiwan as a "good friend" and "brother," Saca said the FTA was a testimony to the two countries' firm ties.
Under the FTA's framework, Steve Chen said that El Salvador would enjoy tariff-free privileges for sugar exports up to 35,000 tonnes for the first year.
The amount will increase to 50,000 tonnes of sugar for the second year and 60,000 tonnes for the third.
Taiwan's consumes 500,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes of sugar per year, with approximately 60,000 tonnes coming from local suppliers and the rest mostly from Thailand and Australia.
Steve Chen said tariff-free sugar imports from El Salvador would not jeopardize local sugar cane farmers because the government has a purchasing system in place to protect their interests.
Because El Salvador is a member of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), which took effect in El Salvador in March last year, Steven Chen said that Taiwanese businesses operating in El Salvador were entitled to trade benefits with the US.
DR-CAFTA includes the US, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
Signing FTAs helps lower prices and increase trade volume, Steve Chen said.
In addition to sugar, he said there was plenty of room for imports of El Salvadoran coffee. Taiwan's coffee imports totaled US$32 million last year, with US$3 million, or 11 percent coming from Central American countries.
The Taiwan-El Salvador FTA covers agriculture, manufacturing and the service sector.
Also see story:
El Salvador vows firm ties with Taiwan
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
‘COMMITTED TO DETERRENCE’: Washington would stand by its allies, but it can only help as much as countries help themselves, Raymond Greene said The US is committed to deterrence in the first island chain, but it should not bear the burden alone, as “freedom is not free,” American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said in a speech at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s “Strengthening Resilience: Defense as the Engine of Development” seminar in Taipei yesterday. In the speech, titled “Investing Together and a Secure and Prosperous Future,” Greene highlighted the contributions of US President Donald Trump’s administration to Taiwan’s defense efforts, including the establishment of supply chains for drones and autonomous systems, offers of security assistance and the expansion of
RSS