There is no easy way for Taipei to move the issue of signing a free trade pact with the US higher on Washington's agenda unless the country is able to follow through on its WTO commitments, the nation's top representative to the US said yesterday.
"I am afraid before 2004, it'll be difficult for us to be included in the US timetable for consultations and negotiations pertinent to a free trade agreement [FTA] between the two sides," Chen Chien-jen (程建人) told the Legislative Yuan.
The US has argued that Taipei has failed to fulfill the pledges it made when joining WTO on Jan. 1, not to mention the problems with intellectual property rights (IPR) in Taiwan, Chen told the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee following his report on Taiwan-US relations.
Several US officials have cited the IPR issue as the most important trade agenda item between the two sides, while urging Taipei to enact effective legislation and step up its crackdown on piracy.
The veteran diplomat also said that a formal meeting for the signing of a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) has been put on hold by the US because Washington is not satisfied with Taipei's ability to follow through on its WTO commitments.
The signing of a TIFA had been seen as a prelude to discussions on a FTA, Chen said.
The US has put Singapore, Central and South America, Morocco, South Africa and Australia higher on its agenda for FTA talks, Chen said, although negotiations are not expected to begin until 2004 or 2005.
But if high-ranking US officials wanted to move the issue of a FTA with Taiwan higher on the agenda, then the country would stand a good chance of forging such a pact, he added.
Chen also said the US has made it publicly known that Beijing's protests over Taipei's efforts to reach free trade pacts with other countries would not be accepted.
He also told lawmakers that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has refused to approve the resignation he submitted in the wake of the controversial security check of first lady Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) during her visit to the US in September.
The envoy met with the president on Wednesday.
"The president has encouraged me to stay on to work for our country and the people," he said.
KMT and other opposition lawmakers have demanded both Chen Chien-jen and Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (簡又新) step down over the security-check incident. However, they dampened their criticism when facing the diplomat during yesterday's committee meeting.
The envoy remained tight-lipped, however, when asked to confirm reports that US Secretary of State Colin Powell had telephoned President Chen to apologize for Wu being searched at Dulles Airport near Washington.
When asked at a press conference in Washington earlier this week about Powell's alleged phone call, Assistant US Secretary of State James Kelly also refused to confirm the reports.
"I can't confirm it and I won't confirm it," Kelly said, adding that Powell and the State Department are concerned that high-level friendly visitors receive a "respectful" reception when during visits to the US.
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