Taiwan’s exports to nations belonging to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) expanded 23.8 percent in the first nine months of this year, while imports grew 14.9 percent, warranting Taiwan’s bid to join the free-trade bloc, data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics (DGBAS) showed on Thursday last week.
The data was released one year after Taiwan announced its aim to join the CPTPP, which comprises 11 member states: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The CPTPP’s members account for 13.4 percent of global GDP, at about US$13.5 trillion in total, making it one of the world’s largest free-trade areas, along with the North American Free Trade Agreement, the EU and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the DGBAS said.
Photo courtesy of the Singaporean Ministry of Trade and Industry via CNA
DGBAS Statistics Department head Tsai Yu-tai (蔡鈺泰) said that Taiwan’s increase in trade with CPTPP member states had a lot to do with Taiwan benefitting from the contactless economy created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
That benefit is fading, explaining why exports lost momentum last quarter and might decline further this quarter and early next year, Tsai said.
Taiwan on Sept. 22 last year filed an official request to join the CPTPP and has made becoming a member its top policy priority, updating its fishing, medicine, investment, patent, trademark and intellectual property regulations to align with the trade body’s standards, the National Development Council has said.
CPTPP membership would positively affect local makers of textiles, garments, machinery and machine tools that remain heavily dependent on traditional manufacturing procedures and are sensitive to tariff changes, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) said.
As Taiwan’s textile products are relatively competitive in Asia, joining the CPTPP would boost that advantage, the Taipei-based think tank said.
While pursuing CPTPP membership, the government must not forget to boost relations with individual member economies, it said.
Exports last year to CPTPP markets soared 33 percent annually to US$94.99 billion, better than an average 9.3 percent increase over the previous five years, DGBAS data showed.
Shipments of electronics last year contributed US$41.32 billion, or 43.5 percent, followed by base metals and related products at US$8.31 billion, and information and communications technology products at US$7.8 billion, the DGBAS said.
Imports from CPTPP areas last year totaled US$108.61 billion, up 30 percent year-on-year, it said.
Electronics, mineral products and machinery were the top three import sectors, it said.
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