President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday expressed his gratitude to the US for the resumption of bilateral talks on the Taiwan-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and said that he expected the TIFA to help facilitate more talks on economic and trade issues.
“[The] TIFA is an economic platform. It’s not a cure-all, but a door-knocker. In future, Taiwan and the US can proceed with more negotiations on investments, tariff services and other economic issues,” Ma said when meeting with representatives from the Lions Club Taiwan at the Presidential Office.
Ma also emphasized that the government has sought to speed up trade negotiations with both Singapore and New Zealand, and reiterated his hopes that the nation could join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) within the next eight years.
“By negotiating with the US and China, we want to eliminate the obstacles in our trade development. We also need to create more opportunities, so that other nations will understand our efforts to strengthen regional trade integration,” he said.
Ma’s comments came in response to recent meetings between US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Taiwan’s APEC envoy, former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰), at the annual APEC forum in Vladivostock, Russia.
Clinton promised to send Atul Keshap, coordinator of economic policy in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the US Department of State, to consult on further broadening the US’ economic relationship with Taiwan. Keshap’s visit is expected to pave the way for the resumption of long-stalled TIFA talks.
Ma expressed concern about the nation’s exports, which have been declining in recent years, and said the nation must seek more cooperation with major trade partners, including the US, China and Japan, to improve the situation.
While Taiwan and Japan are still embroiled in sovereignty disputes over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), Ma said the government would continue to seek cooperation with Japan in the fisheries sector.
Meanwhile, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are to focus efforts on trade in services as a follow-up to the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), he said.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS