Taiwan hopes to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as soon as possible, Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中), Taiwan’s top negotiator, said in an interview.
In an interview published on Tuesday by US trade publication Inside US Trade, Deng said he believes Taiwan can live up to the agreement’s standards and market access commitments.
“We think we are there, we can meet all the standards,” Deng said. “We think we can also achieve that high level of liberalization and market access.”
Photo: CNA
Taiwan is seeking the support of existing members of the agreement to become a signatory in the deal.
Eleven countries that make up about 13.4 percent of global GDP — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam — signed the trade agreement in early March.
The deal came about after the US pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which had been signed by the US and the 11 countries.
Deng, who last week led a delegation to Washington to participate in a SelectUSA investment summit, said the CPTPP is scheduled to take effect early next year and Taiwan is seeking to get on board soon after the agreement is implemented.
Mexico has ratified the CPTPP, while Canada, Japan and New Zealand are expected to ratify the agreement by the end of this year.
CPTPP participation is important, because Taiwan is concerned that it will be left out of the network of trade agreements in the region, leading to disadvantages that could become a “burden” for Taiwanese firms and result in trade diversion, Deng said.
Regional trade agreements involving ASEAN members and between South Korea and the EU have already had an effect, he said.
Asked whether Taiwan has set its sights on other regional trade pacts, including the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Deng told the publication: “We prefer high-standard agreements, so CPTPP is the ideal one for us.”
Taiwan is also considering other trade pacts, but “lower-level” trade agreements are not attractive to the nation, he said.
Taiwan is also looking to continue liberalizing its own market, which is separate from trade agreements, Deng said, adding that the nation is also trying to improve market transparency, including forming measures that would allow foreign companies to weigh in on new business regulations.
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