An independent study on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement said that membership in the bloc would make Taiwan more competitive and would reduce the nation’s economic dependence on China.
If Taiwan does not join the TPP, its competitiveness would erode, the study said.
Penned by Council on Foreign Relations member Kevin Nealer and US Department of Energy research specialist Margaux Fimbers, the study has been published by the National Bureau of Asian Research.
The authors said that the main benefits of the TPP are derived from its regional scope and high standards for entry.
“The benefits of joining the TPP would go beyond creating more space for Taiwan in the international arena,” Nealer and Fimbers said.
“Taiwan’s economic future depends on maintaining its competitive advantage,” they added.
Meeting the standards set by the TPP would necessitate a comprehensive reform in Taiwan, which would in turn make the nation more competitive in the long run, they said.
TPP membership would also provide an avenue for trade diversification.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has emphasized the importance of joining the TPP in the second round of negotiations and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has also backed membership, the paper said.
“Taiwan still faces two main challenges as it seeks to join the TPP — domestic resistance and opposition from China,” the study said.
It said that one possible diplomatic option for the US would be to work privately toward Taiwan’s inclusion in the TPP — provided it meets the same requirements as current members — to blunt the effect of a veto by the Chinese government.
“This option could be pursued alongside a strategy of accelerating China’s TPP entry and is not inconsistent with the US policy goal,” the study said.
It said that Taiwan should focus its efforts on the areas of the TPP where it can achieve successful outcomes, such as the services sector, rather than attempting to tackle all aspects of the partnership at once.
“Taking incremental steps toward meeting TPP standards will enable Taiwan’s leaders to build public support for more difficult reforms in agriculture and investor-state dispute resolution,” the study said.
Transparency would be “extremely important” in convincing the public that joining TPP is in Taiwan’s best interests, the study added.
It said that Taiwan should engage in bilateral discussions with TPP members to review key trade and investment issues and consider how it might reform its economy to engage in a follow-up round for potential new members.
“In particular, Taiwan should engage with Japan, which has publicly supported Taiwan joining negotiations and is facing similar difficulties in passing the domestic reforms required by the TPP,” the study said.
It said that given all the strategic and security implications of further integration into the Asia-Pacific region, joining the TPP would be immensely advantageous for Taiwan.
“It is imperative for Taiwan to knit itself into the economic and commercial fabric of the region,” the study said.
“Being a bystander at a time of accelerating regional integration would inevitably reduce Taiwan’s competitiveness and marginalize its role,” the study concluded.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
RSS