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Published Date: 2017-06-24
Premier Lin Chuan
An interview with Premier Lin Chuan as it appears in Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun. (CNA)
Premier Lin Chuan says Taiwan still hopes to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), even though the US has pulled out of the project.
Lin was speaking during a recent interview with the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The TPP is a multilateral free-trade agreement between countries along the Pacific Rim. With the US withdrawal, the agreement now counts eleven signatories.
Lin said that trade is still the main driver of Taiwan’s economic development and that Taiwan hopes to reduce barriers to trade. He said Taiwan hopes that it and its Pacific Rim trading partners can both benefit economically from the TPP.
The premier said one of the TPP’s goals is stopping countries from gaining an unfair advantage by polluting the environment or using cheap labor. He said that Taiwan is working to tighten environmental and other standards, and could help the TPP achieve this goal.
Lin said Taiwan is happy to see Japan take on a major role in promoting the TPP and that Taiwan hopes to be included in any future expansion of the agreement.