Business representatives yesterday urged the government to slow the appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar, saying that some Taiwanese industries have been undercut by rivals due to unfavorable foreign exchange rates.
The government should also assist local industries to expand their domestic market, and push for more bilateral trade deals so that Taiwanese companies can enjoy zero or preferential tariffs on exports, following the nation’s exclusion from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which was signed by 15 Asia-Pacific nations on Nov. 15, they said at a meeting with the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
Some participants said that the NT dollar’s appreciation is affecting their business worse than the RCEP, while others said that the government should encourage the upgrading of local industries by providing incentive packages.
Photo: CNA
As about 90 percent of goods traded in the Asia-Pacific region would eventually be exempt from tariffs under the RCEP, the ministry held the meeting with several trade associations and local companies to discuss its potential effects.
The meeting was presided over by Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花), while Vice Premier Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) and National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) were also in attendance. Representatives from the petrochemical, machinery, steel, machine tool, fastener, vehicle, flat-panel display, plastics, textiles and synthetic resin industries were invited.
Taiwan Industrial Fasteners Institute chairman Tsai Tu-chin (蔡圖晉) told state-run Central News Agency ahead of the meeting that the industry’s annual production value dropped to NT$143 billion (US$4.96 billion) last year, from NT$176 billion in 2018.
The figure might not reach NT$110 billion this year, he said, blaming the strong NT dollar and high tariffs on exports.
Tsai said the fastener industry has incurred as much as NT$5 billion in foreign-exchange losses per year as the NT dollar has appreciated 12 to 15 percent against the US dollar over the past two years, while its exports to ASEAN markets face tariffs of 5 to 30 percent.
Due to those adverse effects, some fastener makers might have to cease operations or relocate abroad if the government does not provide the necessary assistance, he said.
During the meeting, participants expressed their worries about the NT dollar exchange rate and said that they hoped the government could make more reasonable adjustments in controlling the exchange rate, the ministry said in a statement released after the meeting.
Taiwanese firms also face problems regarding overseas financing services, as Taiwanese banks have insufficient overseas financial tools to provide loans to local companies that purchase made-in-Taiwan equipment, which in turn has had a negative effect on exports, the ministry said, citing the experiences of some of those who attended the meeting.
Regarding the implementation of the RCEP, participants from several trade associations said that they expect a limited effect on Taiwanese companies in the short term, but they still expect long-term assistance from the government and more free-trade deals with other countries to maintain their competitiveness, the ministry said.
Several heads of trade associations said that they understand the special difficulties Taiwan faces in the international arena and that it is not easy for the nation to join the regional trade blocks, the ministry said.
However, they still expect the government to plan and push for bilateral trade agreements or free-trade agreements with other friendly countries, it said.
Participants from the local machine tool association said that the inking of a Taiwan-US free-trade agreement would be the most effective way to help Taiwanese makers gain more of the market share in the US, but they understood that it would take some time to achieve this goal.
However before that, the government could increase its budget to assist the industry in the area of research and development, and broaden financial assistance tools for local makers, they said.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained