Wolfowitz urges pro-business reforms

The former president of the World Bank made the remarks during his third visit to Taiwan when he spoke to members of the Taipei based American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) at a luncheon.

He took the position of chairman of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council — a non-profit organization dedicated to developing trade and business relations between the U.S. and Taiwan — in May 2008.

Noting that he was very impressed by the economic and democratic developments Taiwan has made over the past few decades, Wolfowitz said the next challenge is to take the nation’s economic success to a higher level.

“Taiwan should be made into the most business-friendly place in the world,” he said, pointing to Ireland as an example of dramatically lowered taxes, relaxed regulations and improved physical infrastructure.

Wolfowitz said the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council wants to work with AmCham and President Ma Ying-jeou’s administration to clear up what AmCham describes as the “regulatory morass” in Taiwan.

He pointed in particular to the country’s power and energy sectors, where both CPC Corp., Taiwan and the Taiwan Power Company remain under government control.

“There is no innovation or financing in this critical sector. There is no reliability or diversity in the electricity supply,” he said, adding that the government must reduce its control in these businesses.

Wolfowitz also suggested that the government remove restrictions on investment in China, especially for the semiconductor industry, in which Taiwan plays a leading global role.

He also called on the government to immediately participate in the Government Procurement Agreement under the World Trade Organization, as this would help Ma to deliver on his campaign promise to revitalize Taiwan’s stagnant economy.

Taiwan’s participation in that agreement as soon as possible will make programs such as the i-Taiwan projects more successful, Wolfowitz said, adding that “we hope the Ma government will give high priority to this agreement.”

The i-Taiwan national construction projects, one of Ma’s major economic platforms, proposes putting NT$2.65 trillion of government investment over the next eight years into boosting the economy, by turning cities such as Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taoyuan into major transport hubs, among many other projects.

In terms of Taiwan-U.S. trade, Wolfowitz said the council strongly supports a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries but admitted that realistically, the U.S. is unlikely to sign any more FTAs in the short term.

“The atmosphere in the U.S. is bleak and the prospects in the next Congress look even bleaker, regardless of who wins the presidential election,” he said.

Wolfowitz said that while the council continues to advocate an FTA, it also intends to work hard to advance the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and other bilateral investment and tax agreements.

“We are looking for low hanging fruit to pick the things that can be done,” he said.

Wolfowitz, who arrived in Taiwan Sunday, will conclude his first visit to the nation, in his capacity as chairman of the U.S. Taiwan Business Council, today.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email