The foreign ministry says that Taiwan will have to remove trade barriers and comply with free trade regulations in order to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The CPTPP is a free trade pact led by Japan.
The foreign ministry said that the safety of food imports originating from around Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture is a particular issue. Taiwan has banned the import of food products from the area since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The ministry says this is a trade issue that must be dealt with between Taiwan and Japan if Taiwan is to consider entering the CPTPP.
Meanwhile, head of the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, Kuo Chung-shi, says that the WTO follows high standards of trade liberalization. Kuo said Taiwan has to meet these standards before consultations with any CPTPP member country about joining the trade bloc.