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
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS