President Ma vows to strive for FTAs after inking ECFA

President Ma Ying-jeou pledged yesterday the government will continue its efforts to reach free trade agreements (FTAs) with other countries after securing an ECFA with China.

All details of the four new cross-strait pacts regarding fishing crew cooperation, agricultural quarantine inspection, industrial product standards, inspection and certification, and the avoidance of double taxation have been generally worked out.

Chairman P.K. Chiang of the Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and President Chen Yunlin of the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) are scheduled to officially ink the pacts tomorrow during the fourth round of meetings that will last through Friday.

The proposed ECFA is not on the agenda of the current meeting. But they will conduct a “dialogue” on ECFA-related issues tomorrow in Taichung.

ECFA and FTAs

At a meeting with manufacturers of socks and stockings in the central county of Changhua, President Ma said that the government will negotiate the ECFA with China based on the principle that “Taiwan is the focus” and that “the interests of the people here come first.”

He also said the document will be subject to the review of the Legislative Yuan, the parliament in Taiwan.

The president pointed out that Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has posed a good question concerning whether the government is able to secure FTAs with other nations after inking an ECFA with Beijing.

Ma noted that only Taiwan and North Korea among Asia Pacific countries have not signed FTAs with other countries in the region. This threatens to marginalize Taiwan and undercut its international competitiveness, he said. He said that after the ECFA with Beijing is signed, his administration will strive to seek FTAs with other countries. Ma also stressed that there is no need to sound out or ask for China's opinions for the FTAs “because Taiwan is a sovereign independent country.”

Free trade deals can only be signed if both sides are willing to do so, Ma said. But he expressed confidence that once an ECFA is signed with China, other countries will be more willing to sign FTAs with Taiwan.

At a separate meeting with farmers and fruit growers, Ma emphasized that he has honored his pledge not to further open Taiwan's market to Chinese agricultural products since assuming office in May 2008.

Ma noted that of the 1,415 Chinese agricultural products presently allowed to be imported into Taiwan, 479 items were approved by the previous Kuomintang (KMT) administration, and the majority of almost 1,000 products were approved by the administration of the DPP when it was in power.

Ma added that the government has lifted no restrictions on imports of no extra farm products from the Chinese mainland after he assumed office.

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