The government is stepping up efforts to persuade European countries to start bilateral investment agreement (BIA) talks with Taiwan, as the conditions are ripe, Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) said yesterday.
Most foreign investment in Taiwan comes from the EU, while new member states in central and eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic, have expressed a keen interest in investing in the nation, said Deng, the Cabinet’s chief representative for trade negotiations.
Over the past few years, Taiwanese events promoting smart city infrastructure have attracted many European visitors, showing that bilateral trade ties are improving, he said.
Taiwan’s global visibility is at its apex after the nation won global accolades for its effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which presents an opportunity for the nation to garner the support of EU members, such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, to start BIA talks, Deng said.
The European Parliament has passed resolutions to support Taiwan’s bid to join the WHO and its intention to negotiate a trade pact with the EU, he said.
Given the good foundations as well as the needs proposed by businesses, it is high time that both sides commence BIA negotiations, he said.
However, as the EU is often slow in making major decisions due to the need to reach a consensus among member states, the government has to work harder to garner support from each member state, he said.
Commenting on Taiwan-US talks over a bilateral trade agreement, another high-level Cabinet official said that there had not been enough time to deal with certain issues, echoing outgoing US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer’s remarks.
Lighthizer, who is to depart next week, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Monday rejected criticism that he did not start talks with Taiwan because he wanted to protect Washington’s “phase one” trade deal with Beijing.
Instead, he said, there had not been enough time to go through many legal hoops with Taiwan and that many trade disputes with Taipei remain unresolved.
US law requires the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) to notify the US Congress 90 days before it starts negotiations with a foreign government, and it cannot start talks without the Congress’ approval, the Cabinet official said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Aug. 28 last year announced the government’s plan to ease restrictions on pork containing ractopamine from Jan. 1, and the US held its presidential election in November, which left little time for Lighthizer to prepare for talks with Taiwan during his term, the official said.
Due to the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) protests against the pork policy and its plan to launch a referendum reinstating the total ban on ractopamine, it is said that the USTR hopes to take more time monitoring the developments in Taiwan before starting negotiations, the official said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
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