An Australian parliamentary committee expressed support for Taiwan’s application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc, while also advocating for a free-trade agreement (FTA) between Taipei and Canberra, an Australian government report said on Thursday.
The Australian Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade said that the country, along with other CPTPP members, should facilitate Taiwan’s accession to the trade bloc.
The committee also suggested that the Australian government consider negotiating a bilateral free-trade agreement with Taiwan.
Such an agreement would be beneficial to Australia in energy, agriculture, education and control of pandemics, the committee said.
A bilateral FTA would also allow the Australian government to learn from Taiwan about countering disinformation campaigns and building capacity against cyberattacks, the committee said.
“A lesson from our experience with the UK is that benefits accrue from negotiating a bilateral FTA and the CPTPP at the same time, and we see merit in replicating this approach with Taiwan,” Australian Member of Parliament Ted O’Brien, chair of the trade subcommittee, said in a parliamentary statement.
The UK and China have also applied to join the CPTPP, and a review process for the UK’s accession is ongoing.
The committee stopped short of recommending China’s inclusion in the CPTPP.
Any support for China’s bid would require Beijing to re-establish full trade relations with Australia, including “ending its coercive trade measures and re-engaging in ministerial dialogue, and to demonstrate an ability and willingness to commit to the CPTPP’s high standards,” the committee said.
“The ball is in their court,” O’Brien said in the statement. “It’s up to China if it wishes to re-engage with Australia, and I hope it does because that would enable the discussions that are necessary to determine whether an accession process should commence.”
The CPTPP, which grew out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the US left that pact in 2017, is one of the world’s largest trade blocs, representing a market of 500 million people and accounting for 13.5 percent of global trade.
Its 11 signatories are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Taiwan’s application to join the CPTPP was submitted on Sept. 22, less than a week after China applied for membership in the trade group.
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