British Undersecretary of State for International Trade Graham Stuart yesterday set an optimistic tone for the possibility of a trade agreement between Taiwan and the UK after Brexit, touting the productive environment created by bilateral trade talks.
Stuart made the remarks at a news conference in Taoyuan at the vertical vegetable farming company YesHealth iFarm (源鮮智慧農場), which is to invest ￡18 million (US$25.5 million) to establish its first European base with a vertical farming factory in York, England.
“This is only the latest announcement in a pattern of mutual trade and investment that has flourished between our economies in recent years,” Stuart said, adding that the firm’s 14-story vertical farm is Asia’s largest indoor plant producer and is at the cutting edge of an industry that, while still in its early stages, has truly global implications.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
He also announced that frozen food manufacturer Han Dian Frozen Prepared Food Co (漢典食品) would invest ￡3.5 million to expand its UK manufacturing operation, following an initial investment in London in September last year.
Asked about the possibility of a trade deal between Taipei and London, Stuart said that the British government has had excellent trade talks with Taiwan and that they have been very productive since they were established.
“As we leave the EU, the first step is to roll over existing agreements, which countries around the world have so far indicated that they are happy to do,” Stuart said, adding that the UK’s next step would be looking to work closely with its allies around the world.
“For now, the trade talks between Taiwan and the UK provide a very productive environment to develop further links between the two countries,” he said, without elaborating.
The two nations, which saw two-way trade of ￡5.4 billion in 2016, concluded their 20th round of trade talks in London in December last year, where they reached a consensus to set up a dialogue platform this year to discuss agriculture and energy cooperation.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said in a meeting with Stuart at the Presidential Office on Monday that the two nations have been given a chance to upgrade the overall bilateral relationship, as the UK is preparing to form new trade relationships with important trading partners in the post-Brexit era.
In addition to agriculture and “green” energy, there are other key areas where Taiwan and the UK have mutual interests and cooperation, including biotech, artificial intelligence, infrastructure and railways, Stuart said.
“England was the first country in the world to develop civil nuclear power. We have tremendous experience in dealing with the end of life of nuclear plants. So there is a huge opportunity for British firms to support Taiwan in ... dealing with its nuclear legacies and developing ‘green’ renewables,” Stuart said.
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
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
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
South Korea yesterday said that it was removing loudspeakers used to blare K-pop and news reports to North Korea, as the new administration in Seoul tries to ease tensions with its bellicose neighbor. The nations, still technically at war, had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, Seoul’s military said in June after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. It said in June that Pyongyang stopped transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean residents, a day after South Korea’s loudspeakers fell silent. “Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers,”
RSS