President Ma reiterated recently Taiwan’s determination to seek participation in regional trade groupings including TPP (Tran-Pacific Partnership) and RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership). He demanded related government agencies propose concrete policy by July this year. The US-led TPP is a proposed trade agreement involving 12 countries: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the US. According to a White House official, Taiwan may join the TPP before the end of 2015 at the earliest.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) scheme of the 10 ASEAN Member States and its FTA Partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand) to be concluded by the end of 2015. Talks are orchestrated by mainland China, but Dr.Roy Lee, deputy director of the Taiwan WTO Center of Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said Indonesia plays the most important role because mainland China has territorial disputes in the South China Sea involving the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. If Taiwan does not take part in the regional economic integration of TPP and RECP, Taiwan will be marginalized in the world. The trade volume between Taiwan and the 12 countries in TPP accounts for 36% while the trade volume with the 16 countries in the RCEP is about 57%.

What kind of market access and reforms are required of Taiwan to join the TPP and RCEP? Dr.Roy Lee, deputy director of the Taiwan WTO Center of Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research shares with us his views on this week’s On the Line. Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research is a Taiwan-based international policy think tank for economic research.

 Top left photo: Courtesy of Central News Agency             Second photo: Courtesy of Dr.Roy Lee

Source: 【Radio Taiwan International】http://english.rti.org.tw/programalertinfo.aspx?tid=944DE58BCD0B3E40