US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said Wednesday he would tour Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia this week to press for freer trade in Southeast Asia,
The four-day trip, starting Thursday, was aimed at promoting trade liberalization and underscoring the importance of economic integration in the Asia Pacific region, he said.
"This trip is an important indication of America's economic engagement with Southeast Asia," Zoellick saidt.
"Trade liberalization is a win-win opportunity," he added.
"Trade boosts economies and opens markets for farmers, businesses and workers, thereby creating jobs and providing consumers with more choices, lower costs and better quality goods and services."
Zoellick is to arrive in Thailand on Thursday for a two-day visit, during which he also is to meet with economic ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). "I am honored to be the first US Trade Representative to travel to Thailand in over a decade," he said.
"ASEAN is an important market of 500 million people and our fourth largest trading partner. We anticipate renewing a relationship that can open Southeast Asia to US exports."
In Singapore, Zoellick was scheduled to discuss progress in negotiations for a US-Singapore free trade agreement (FTA) and its impact on the region, it said.
He will meet with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri to express the support of President George W. Bush's administration for her government and efforts to promote economic reforms, the statement said.
"Economic development in Southeast Asia is a key contributor to regional stability and promoting greater prosperity," Zoellick said. "I look forward to meeting again with Indonesian President Megawati and Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew to discuss how trade liberalization, particularly our future FTA with Singapore, can promote economic growth throughout the region."
ADVANCED: Previously, Taiwanese chip companies were restricted from building overseas fabs with technology less than two generations behind domestic factories Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), a major chip supplier to Nvidia Corp, would no longer be restricted from investing in next-generation 2-nanometer chip production in the US, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. However, the ministry added that the world’s biggest contract chipmaker would not be making any reckless decisions, given the weight of its up to US$30 billion investment. To safeguard Taiwan’s chip technology advantages, the government has barred local chipmakers from making chips using more advanced technologies at their overseas factories, in China particularly. Chipmakers were previously only allowed to produce chips using less advanced technologies, specifically
The New Taiwan dollar is on the verge of overtaking the yuan as Asia’s best carry-trade target given its lower risk of interest-rate and currency volatility. A strategy of borrowing the New Taiwan dollar to invest in higher-yielding alternatives has generated the second-highest return over the past month among Asian currencies behind the yuan, based on the Sharpe ratio that measures risk-adjusted relative returns. The New Taiwan dollar may soon replace its Chinese peer as the region’s favored carry trade tool, analysts say, citing Beijing’s efforts to support the yuan that can create wild swings in borrowing costs. In contrast,
VERTICAL INTEGRATION: The US fabless company’s acquisition of the data center manufacturer would not affect market competition, the Fair Trade Commission said The Fair Trade Commission has approved Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s (AMD) bid to fully acquire ZT International Group Inc for US$4.9 billion, saying it would not hamper market competition. As AMD is a fabless company that designs central processing units (CPUs) used in consumer electronics and servers, while ZT is a data center manufacturer, the vertical integration would not affect market competition, the commission said in a statement yesterday. ZT counts hyperscalers such as Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc and Google among its major clients and plays a minor role in deciding the specifications of data centers, given the strong bargaining power of
TARIFF SURGE: The strong performance could be attributed to the growing artificial intelligence device market and mass orders ahead of potential US tariffs, analysts said The combined revenue of companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the Taipei Exchange for the whole of last year totaled NT$44.66 trillion (US$1.35 trillion), up 12.8 percent year-on-year and hit a record high, data compiled by investment consulting firm CMoney showed on Saturday. The result came after listed firms reported a 23.92 percent annual increase in combined revenue for last month at NT$4.1 trillion, the second-highest for the month of December on record, and posted a 15.63 percent rise in combined revenue for the December quarter at NT$12.25 billion, the highest quarterly figure ever, the data showed. Analysts attributed the
RSS