Taiwan’s economy, with a successful application to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), stands to grow by 2 percent, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday.
The nation has applied to the Japan-led trade bloc under the name “Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
“It’s the least controversial name and the same one under which we joined the WTO,” said Deng, who also serves as head of the Cabinet’s Office of Trade Negotiations.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
The 11-member trade bloc recommended that Taiwan rush its application after China also applied for membership on Thursday last week.
“We have chosen to apply in our own time, but of course there was the worry that it would be more difficult if China gained entry first,” Deng said.
However, Deng said he believes that the CPTPP member states review applications on a case-by-case basis and based on whether an applicant meets the bloc’s standards.
Taiwan applied on Wednesday via its representative in New Zealand, who sent the accession form to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
New Zealand acts as the legal depositary for the bloc, and is responsible for circulating the application among its member states.
Taiwan would next begin accession talks with all 11 CPTPP members, seeking their support and learning about which issues each member state is most concerned, Deng said, adding that he could not estimate how long it might take for Taiwan to join the trade bloc, given the uncertainties of the accession process.
While tech products are mostly tariff-free under WTO rules, traditional industry could benefit from Taiwan joining the pact, while agriculture would suffer, Kung said.
“We can expect a gain of about 2 percent to our GDP if we join the CPTPP, and a negative impact of 0.56 percent if we don’t,” he said.
Kung’s modeling assumes that the UK, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines would eventually join the trade bloc, even if Taiwan does not.
Not every industry would benefit, but traditional industries such as petroleum, plastics, metals, chemicals and services would face greater trade barriers if the nation is not part of the bloc, he said.
“Our models show that CPTPP membership would hit agriculture, and the automotive and auto parts sectors the hardest,” Kung said.
Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said that while tariff protection for agricultural products would drop, there would be a buffer period, while some products would remain protected.
“Looking at the examples of Japan and Vietnam, we see the drop in tariffs phased in over 16 to 21 years,” Chen said. “Vietnam and Japan retain 3 percent and 2.8 percent tariffs respectively on products, mostly agriculture, that are not zero-tariff.”
Tokyo has responded favorably to Taiwan’s CPTPP announcement, with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi telling reporters in New York City yesterday that “Japan welcomes Taiwan’s application to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”
Separately yesterday, China said that it opposed Taiwan joining the trade bloc.
“We firmly oppose any country having official exchanges with Taiwan and firmly oppose the Taiwan region’s accession to any official treaties or organizations,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) told reporters.
The trade bloc’s signatories are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Additional reporting by AFP and CNA
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
New Taipei City prosecutors yesterday indicted nine entertainers over their alleged connection to a fraud ring that produces falsified documents to help people evade military service, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and show host William Liao (廖威廉). Twenty-eight people were charged with contravening the Punishment for Violation of Military Service System Act (妨害兵役治罪條例) and Article 214 of the Criminal Code for “causing a public official to make a false entry in a public document.” Prosecutors alleged the fraud ring was ran by a man, Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), and his three assistants, and that they were paid to help people dodge compulsory
RSS