The signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China would be a mutually beneficial move, not a zero-sum game, Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) Director-General Huang Chih-peng (黃志鵬) told the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
As the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are engaged in unofficial talks on the ECFA, Huang said it would not be appropriate to disclose what industry items the government is going to open to China.
During a question-and-answer session at the legislature, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said the government should release details of the ECFA discussions.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Shyu Jong-shyoung (徐中雄) suggested that the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) brief lawmakers on the progress of the talks.
The Economics Committee passed a motion yesterday calling on the ministry to present a special report early next month on the impact of the proposed ECFA on Taiwan’s economy.
A report recently released by China’s Ministry of Commerce said tariff reductions resulting from the ECFA were expected to boost China’s GDP by 0.63 percentage points, or more than US$27 billion.
Meanwhile, a study commissioned by the MOEA and conducted by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (中經院) shows that the ECFA could push up Taiwan’s GDP by 1.72 percentage points, or US$6.9 billion.
Huang said that while comparing the increase in GDP on the two sides of the Strait, the public should realize that these would be benefits that would not exist without an ECFA.
Gains for Taiwan will not mean losses for China or vice versa, he said.
The government should sign the agreement with China as long as its benefits outweigh its disadvantages, Huang said.
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