Panama is expected to sign a free-trade agreement with Taiwan as early as June, although the two sides have yet to resolve disagreements over market access and tariff-reductions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs sources said yesterday.
Javier Hou (
Hou said both sides are expected to work on six areas of the draft agreement during the May talks.
If the negotiations go smooth-ly, a deal is expected to be signed sometime in June or July, Hou said.
Panamanian Ambassador Jose Antonio Dominguez said on Monday that he's optimistic about the pact and believes it could be sealed sometime in June.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆), a key negotiator in the talks, said there is still disagreement over market access for certain goods and services.
"They seek to seal a mutually beneficial and balanced package," Chen said in a phone interview. "We'll take their considerations into account and vice versa."
Chen denied reports that have suggested Panama's demands are excessive.
The signing of the pact would make Panama the first country to reach such an agreement with Taiwan.
Hou said that if talks take longer than expected a pact should still be signed within the year.
The ambassador stressed the political will of leaders in both countries has been instrumental in getting the trade talks going.
During his visit to Panama in August, Premier Yu Shyi-kun signed a joint statement with Vice President Dominador Kaiser Baldonero Bazan expressing the two sides' determination to resume trade talks.
The first round of trade talks between the two nations took place last October, followed by a second round in January and a third last month.
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