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CNA
November 22, 2014, 12:59 am TWN
TAIPEI -- President Ma Ying-jeou said Friday that Taiwan is on the right track in its push for trade liberalization, but he added that the progress has not been fast enough, citing the stalled Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement as a cause of Taiwan remaining far behind South Korea, its main competitor.
The agreement has been stalled in the Legislature pending ratification since it was signed in June 2013, Ma said, while receiving Kurt Tong, principal deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.
Before he took office in May 2008, Ma said, South Korea had signed free trade agreements with the United States, the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. That is why his administration has seen it as a top priority to seek free trade agreements with more countries over the years, he said.
In the process, the U.S. also offered some advice, which was one of the main reasons Taiwan chose to sign the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China in 2010, Ma said.
Following the signing of ECFA, Taiwan signed an investment protection pact with Japan and economic cooperation agreements with Singapore and New Zealand, he pointed out.
On the Right Track but not Fast Enough: Ma
“We are on the right track, but we are not moving fast enough,” the president said, adding that it is not because his economic and foreign affairs officials have not made enough efforts.
The main reason is that the trade-in-services agreement, a follow-up pact of ECFA, “has been stalled in the Legislature for about 18 months without any progress,” he said.
The opposition parties have continued to block any review of the services trade pact, which he said has made Taiwan lose its international competitiveness.
Opposition parties and some civic groups are against the agreement, concerned that it will hurt Taiwan's interests and allow for greater influence of China on Taiwan. The government, however, insists that the agreement is needed to show to the world its determination to push for trade liberalization.
The stalling of the agreement is hurting Taiwan's international reputation and causing other countries to hesitate to sign free trade agreements with Taiwan, Ma said.
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President Ma Ying-jeou, right, shakes hands with Kurt Tong, principal deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, at the ... Enlarge Photo
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