Releasing its second annual White Paper yesterday, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) in Taipei urged Taiwan to sign more free-trade agreements (FTA) with regional economies, especially Japan, after Taipei signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China in June.
Japanese firms are eager to work with Taiwanese firms to tap into Chinese and Southeast Asian markets, especially in the wake of the ECFA signing, JCCI senior director Kyota Kishimoto said.
“Taiwanese firms have the competitive advantage in China, in terms of contact networks and experience in personnel management and sales channels,” Kishimoto said.
“There had been many successful business models of Taiwanese-Japanese ventures in China in the past and the ECFA now serves as a catalyst for more Japanese firms to work with Taiwanese peers,” he said.
If Taiwan inks more FTAs with other regional economies, it would increase the country’s attractiveness, he added, saying JCCI executives are set to fly to Tokyo next week to hand in the White Paper to the Japanese government, after submitting it to the Council of Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) yesterday morning.
Taiwan and Singapore agreed to study the impact of a bilateral economic cooperation agreement under the WTO framework, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said last month, saying details would be made public at the appropriate time.
While Japanese enterprises in Taiwan are hoping for a FTA with Japan, the chamber said that there are obstacles and that the FTA should not be restricted to mere “formalities.”
For a start, both parties should push for the signing of agreements to protect bilateral investment activities, safeguard intellectual property rights and reduce business taxes.
“From what we know, Taiwan and Japan have kicked off negotiations on certain areas,” chamber secretary-general Yukio Yamamoto said.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠) told the Taipei Times that he welcomed such a call from the private sector.
“Signing FTAs with regional economies has been the country’s policy and Japan is one of our targets,” Lin said, adding that the ministry, however, has yet to receive official information on a Taiwan-Japan FTA for the moment.
Council of Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Liu (劉憶如) said that the government would finish a review in response to the White Paper’s suggestions in March, including the proposal that Taiwan sign tax agreements and FTAs with Japan and that both sides engage in leadership discussions.
“The council received the White Paper today and we will work more closely with related government departments to discuss the content and give them a response as soon as possible,” Liu told reporters after a meeting with the chamber.
Liu said that the government was scheduled to send a delegation to Japan in March to seek investors and highlight the impact of the ECFA on Taiwan-Japan trade relations.
She said that the CEPD will invite Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) to join the delegation to help promote the ECFA in Japanese in hopes that more Japanese enterprises will have a better understanding of the cross-strait trade pact.
The chamber was founded in March 1971 with 143 corporate members. It now has 410.
The chamber said Japanese enterprises have been actively investing in Taiwan this year, with a shift from manufacturing-oriented businesses toward more service-oriented ones.
Fast Retailing Co, Japan’s biggest clothing retailer, launched its first outlet of the popular Uniqlo casual wear brand last month in Taipei.
Japan’s top hot-spring inn, Kagaya, has joined hands with real-estate developer Radium Life Tech Co (日勝生) to open a hotel called Kagaya Peitou (加賀屋北投) next month.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from