Government officials yesterday dismissed a report that the proposed free-trade agreement (FTA) between Taiwan and its diplomatic ally Paraguay is in jeopardy, due to pressure from other members of Mercosur, a South American trade bloc of which Paraguay is a member.
A Chinese-language newspaper reported on Sunday that Paraguay may not ink the trade pact with Taiwan, citing Paraguay's foreign minister in a speech last week.
"We didn't receive any official notice from Paraguay so far, and we are checking the report via the Paraguayan embassy to see whether it was merely a remark made by the official or has become an official decision," James Wu (
The Chinese-language newspaper said that, during a press conference last Friday to receive David Hu (
Mercosur, established in March 1991, is a trade bloc made up of Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
Wu said that the Taiwan government is aware of the rule passed in 2000 that no Mercosur member can make unilateral trade deals with other countries.
But with the good relationship established between the two countries, Paraguayan high-level officials have reiterated that they will try to convince other Mercosur members to make an exception in this case, due to the country's economic situation, he said.
Taiwan and Paraguay signed a joint communique when Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte Frutos came to Taiwan to attend President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) inauguration ceremony in May last year. The communique states that the two countries would sign a FTA within a year to facilitate bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation.
Last month, when receiving Paraguayan Vice President Luis Alberto Castiglioni Soria and his wife at the Presidential Office, Chen said he would like to travel to Paraguay and sign the FTA himself, if necessary.
Despite the report not having been confirmed, it is suspected that Paraguay's attitude may change under pressure from other members of Mercosur, as the trade bloc is now keen to ink a FTA with China. It was also reported that Brazil and Argentina have demanded Paraguay break diplomatic relations with Taiwan over the matter.
During the last Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November last year, Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) visited four Latin-American countries, including Brazil and Argentina, and expressed his willingness to establish diplomatic ties with all Central and South American nations.
Hu even committed China to invest US$10 billion over the next two years in Brazil, the biggest economic body in Latin America, and also finalized multi-billion dollar trade agreements with Brazilian and Argentinean oil companies during the trip.
Taiwan has only secured one FTA, with ally Panama in 2002. The government expects to complete other trade deals with Nicaragua and Guatemala by August. The FTA consultations with the Dominican Republic and Honduras are also in progress, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Although Taiwan's government is eager to include the US and Japan as free trade partners, little progress has been made in this regard.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
RSS