An independent study on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement said that membership in the bloc would make Taiwan more competitive and would reduce the nation’s economic dependence on China.
If Taiwan does not join the TPP, its competitiveness would erode, the study said.
Penned by Council on Foreign Relations member Kevin Nealer and US Department of Energy research specialist Margaux Fimbers, the study has been published by the National Bureau of Asian Research.
The authors said that the main benefits of the TPP are derived from its regional scope and high standards for entry.
“The benefits of joining the TPP would go beyond creating more space for Taiwan in the international arena,” Nealer and Fimbers said.
“Taiwan’s economic future depends on maintaining its competitive advantage,” they added.
Meeting the standards set by the TPP would necessitate a comprehensive reform in Taiwan, which would in turn make the nation more competitive in the long run, they said.
TPP membership would also provide an avenue for trade diversification.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has emphasized the importance of joining the TPP in the second round of negotiations and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has also backed membership, the paper said.
“Taiwan still faces two main challenges as it seeks to join the TPP — domestic resistance and opposition from China,” the study said.
It said that one possible diplomatic option for the US would be to work privately toward Taiwan’s inclusion in the TPP — provided it meets the same requirements as current members — to blunt the effect of a veto by the Chinese government.
“This option could be pursued alongside a strategy of accelerating China’s TPP entry and is not inconsistent with the US policy goal,” the study said.
It said that Taiwan should focus its efforts on the areas of the TPP where it can achieve successful outcomes, such as the services sector, rather than attempting to tackle all aspects of the partnership at once.
“Taking incremental steps toward meeting TPP standards will enable Taiwan’s leaders to build public support for more difficult reforms in agriculture and investor-state dispute resolution,” the study said.
Transparency would be “extremely important” in convincing the public that joining TPP is in Taiwan’s best interests, the study added.
It said that Taiwan should engage in bilateral discussions with TPP members to review key trade and investment issues and consider how it might reform its economy to engage in a follow-up round for potential new members.
“In particular, Taiwan should engage with Japan, which has publicly supported Taiwan joining negotiations and is facing similar difficulties in passing the domestic reforms required by the TPP,” the study said.
It said that given all the strategic and security implications of further integration into the Asia-Pacific region, joining the TPP would be immensely advantageous for Taiwan.
“It is imperative for Taiwan to knit itself into the economic and commercial fabric of the region,” the study said.
“Being a bystander at a time of accelerating regional integration would inevitably reduce Taiwan’s competitiveness and marginalize its role,” the study concluded.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘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
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face