The Legislative Yuan could begin reviewing the Taiwan-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade on March 12, a day after the election of conveners of legislative committees, sources said.
Based on the bilateral agreement signed on Thursday last week, the US would cap tariffs on Taiwanese goods at 15 percent without stacking them on existing rates, while Taiwan would grant preferential market access to US industrial and agricultural exports, including vehicles and beef and pork products.
The Executive Yuan is expected to approve the trade agreement as early as Thursday next week, sources said.
GRAPHIC: TT
If the agreement is delivered to the legislature on the same day, the first reading of the agreement could be secured at a plenary session on March 6, allowing the agreement to proceed to review at a joint session comprising members of the committee on foreign Affairs and national defense, finance and economics, they said.
With elections for legislative committee conveners set for March 11, lawmakers are expected to begin reviewing the trade agreement as early as March 12, they added.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucuses have pledged to expedite the review of the trade agreement.
However, the KMT has questioned a clause in the agreement requiring Taiwan’s defense expenditure to be no less than 3 percent of GDP, saying the US is interfering in Taiwan’s right to set its budget.
The Conclusion of Treaties Act (條約締結法) stipulates that any signed treaty must be returned to the administrative authority in charge if it is rejected or amended by the legislature, and might then be subject to renegotiation.
The KMT and TPP caucuses are widely expected to approve the agreement with nonbinding resolutions, after the US raised duties on South Korean goods, sources said.
US President Donald Trump last month raised the tariffs on South Korea from 15 percent to 25 percent after its parliament failed to quickly ratify a similar pact.
Separately, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said the agreement on reduced tariffs or tariff exemptions, as well as on the supply chain cooperation, is listed in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment signed on Jan. 15, rather than in the reciprocal trade agreement.
The two are different documents and deal with separate issues, the office said.
The reciprocal trade pact addresses issues related to trade barriers, economic security and business opportunities between the two countries, while the MOU states Taiwan’s pledge to invest in the US’ supply chain and Washington’s offer of preferential tariffs fro Taiwanese goods, the office said.
The MOU lays out a framework for Taiwan-US cooperation and does not stipulate the amount that specific private companies must invest, the office added.
Both documents state that the reciprocal tariff for Taiwanese exports to the US is set at 15 percent without stacking, it added.
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