ECFA discussions to begin early next year

At a meeting with business and industry leaders, Chairman Tsai Hsung-hsiung of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said delegates from the two sides of the Taiwan Strait will begin formal talks on ECFA issues after the New Year holidays. The negotiations will be carried out along the line of trade deals between China and member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said.

Premier Wu said that without the agreement, many of Taiwan's exports to mainland China will be subject to an import tariff of 9 percent on average. Meanwhile, after China joins with ASEAN in 2010, most of its imports from the other member countries will be tariff-free, he added.

Under such circumstances, “will Taiwanese industries remain in Taiwan or will manufacturers open more factories in Taiwan?” Wu asked. The ECFA will open new paths and lead the way to the future for most of the industries in Taiwan because it will exempt them from high tariffs, he said.

“The government is now racing against time” because Taiwan will lose out if it hesitates over the agreement, the premier said.

Responding to media questions whether he thought the government's China-leaning policies were the major factors that contributed to the ruling Kuomintang's setback in the Dec. 5 local elections, Wu said that the facts of the government's cross-Taiwan Strait policies were distorted in many cities and counties during the election campaign.

For example, it was rumored that once the ECFA is signed, many Taiwanese workers will lose their jobs due to imports of cheap Chinese labor, and the market for local agricultural products will suffer when Taiwan lifts it restrictions on such goods from the mainland.

However, Wu noted, it was not President Ma Ying-jeou's administration that gave permission for the importation of the any extra Chinese agricultural products other than the 1,415 items that are currently allowed.

He reiterated that President Ma will not move to lift the restrictions on the more than 800 Chinese products that are banned from entering Taiwan. The government will make greater efforts to explain the proposed ECFA to the public, he added.

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