The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) is likely to take effect next month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said yesterday.
The legislature on Tuesday last week approved the pact and related legal revisions as well as an accord on the protection of intellectual property rights.
Following the legislature’s approval, it will notify the Executive Yuan, which will then inform the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC). The council will then authorize the SEF to convey the information to its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), and the trade pact will come into force the day after the notification is received.
MAC Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) yesterday declined to speculate on the exact date for the implementation of the ECFA, saying only that each side would inform the other once respective procedures are complete.
The legislature must also inform President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) that the legal revisions pertaining to the trade pact have cleared the lawmaking body so that the president can promulgate them into law.
Ma on Wednesday promulgated amendments to the Trademark Act (商標法), Patent Act (專利法) and Plant Variety and Seed Act (植物品種及種苗法). The Customs Tariff Act (海關進口稅則) is currently making its way to Ma’s desk.
The “early harvest” program, meanwhile, will take effect on Jan. 1 next year. The program refers to a list of goods and services that will be subject to immediate tariff concessions or exemptions, which forms the backbone of the proposed deal.
China has agreed to gradually lower tariffs for 539 categories of imports, with an estimated value of US$13.8 billion a year. Beijing also agreed to open 11 service categories and 18 farming and fishery categories.
Although the 539 categories of traded goods accounted for only 16 percent of China-bound exports, the administration said they were still conducive to overall economic development.
Chinese exporters, on the other hand, will get a reciprocal deal on 267 items, with an estimated value of US$2.9 billion a year.
In related news, an official familiar with the ECFA said yesterday that China did not rule out notifying the WTO of the trade pact it signed with Taiwan.
With Taiwan and China both playing a significant role in world trade, the ECFA has drawn the attention of many WTO members, the official said.
Taipei and Beijing recently discussed whether they should formally notify the WTO of their pact, the official added.
Because the ECFA was signed by the SEF and the ARATS — two semi-official bodies responsible for handling two-way exchanges — Taiwan will send the WTO a letter signed by Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥), explaining that the trade pact was inked with the authorization of the two governments.
Since the ECFA is considered a regional free-trade agreement, WTO rules dictate that the organization be notified.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS