Published Date: 2023-08-09
Publication:2021.12
Principal Investigator:許裕佳 Hsu, Yu-Chia
Researchers:江文基Jiang, Wun-Ji、李宜靜Li, Yi-Ching
The
study aims to examine the economic and industry changes between the signing
countries since the Taiwan-Singapore and Taiwan-New Zealand ECAs (ASTEP and
ANZTEC, respectively) took effect, identify the actual benefits of the
agreements, and provide recommendations for policy makers in Taiwan.
The
results of the analysis indicate that ASTEP has contributed to enhanced
industrial cooperation between Taiwan and Singapore, with a more noticeable
increase in bilateral trade in services. As soon as the agreement took effect,
Singapore, already an open market (particularly in goods), eliminated tariffs
on Taiwan-manufactured alcoholic beverages. However, the preferential treatment
did not lead to an increase in alcohol exports to Singapore. Nevertheless, excluding
the impact of tariff reduction, significant increases both in export volume and
local market share have been observed for Taiwan-made electronics and
electrical equipment, as well as machinery in recent years. In comparison,
after Taiwan implemented its tariff reduction commitments, Singapore's exports
of rubber, machinery, and electronics and electrical equipment to Taiwan have
grown considerably. However, exports of certain products, such as minerals,
chemicals, plastics, and automobiles, have exhibited a decline, indicating that
tariff reductions may help exports in goods trade, but FTAs are not the panacea
for market expansion. What’s worth noting is ASTEP's proven benefits in trade
in services, especially in boosting Taiwan's overall service exports to
Singapore. The agreement has helped foster friendly partnerships and facilitate
ease of doing business between the two countries, which is conducive to further
market expansion and deepened bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
Meanwhile,
ANZTEC has proven beneficial in strengthening bilateral trade in goods and
services. In terms of goods, with the complementary nature of the two
economies, Taiwan and New Zealand have enjoyed significant growth in exports of
industrial and agricultural products with comparative advantages. Since the
agreement became effective, Taiwan's exports of plastics, electronics and
electrical equipment, automobiles, steel products, and machinery have increased
widely, while New Zealand's exports of animal and plant products, as well as
processed food products (mainly edible fruits and nuts, meat, miscellaneous
prepared foods, and dairy products) have also grown significantly. As the two
economies are located in different hemispheres, bilateral agricultural trade
could deliver mutual benefits. On the services front, excluding the impact of
Covid during 2020, New Zealand's import and export growth with Taiwan are both
better than the global average, and bilateral trade in services is highly
concentrated in the travel services market. Improved services market access as
a result of ANZTEC has led to increased ease of travel for both sides and
opportunities for further cooperation.