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ndTrade Policy Review of Chinese Taipei
July 5th, 2010
Day 1 Statement by the Republic of Korea
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to begin by expressing my delegation’s cordial welcome to the delegation of Chinese Taipei for their second trade policy review. This TPR comes at an opportune moment, when dynamic new developments are taking place in cross- strait relations between Chinese Taipei and China. In this context, this TPR will be a valuable opportunity for all members to better understand these new developments.
Having said that, I would like to extend my appreciations to Deputy Minister LIN, Sheng-Chung for his detailed initial remarks, which provided a useful and detailed account of the economic achievements of Chinese Taipei since its last review in 2006.
Before proceeding, though, I would like to also extend my appreciations to Mr. John Clarke who as the discussant has set the right tone for this TPR, and to the Secretariat for its usual detailed report.
(1) Remarks on Bilateral Relations
Mr. Chairman,
Korea and Chinese Taipei enjoy rich and extensive economic and cultural relations.
Bilateral trade figures consistently top 22 billion US dollars annually, making Chinese Taipei Korea’s ninth largest trading partner. In this year, fuelled by the economic recovery around the world, bilateral trade is poised to grow to new heights, up to a new record of 25 billion US dollars. We welcome this new development, and hope that this trend would further continue in the coming years.
In terms of investment, Korean firms have thus far invested in excess of 4.7 billion US dollars, mainly in the field of Information Technology where firms in Chinese Taipei hold a comparative advantage over its competitors.
(2) Remarks on Chinese Taipei’s Economic Performance and Trade Policy Mr. Chairman,
In regards to Chinese Taipei’s Economic Performance, like all the speakers who spoke before me, I would like to express my appreciations to Chinese Taipei for the economic progress achieved over the period under review. We note the difficulties it
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has had to overcome since late 2008 in the aftermath of the economic and financial crisis, and express our high praise for the swift response of the government to mitigate the negative effects. Additionally, we take due note of the commitment of the Chinese Taipei authorities to refrain from resorting to protectionist measures in response to the crisis.
With regard to this issue, however, the Secretariat report states that “the most recent crisis exposed the risks associated with high dependence on a few manufacture exports”, and further states that “the authorities are seeking to diversify the economy’s structure, and search for new engines of growth, in particular, the services industry”.
Given that this is an issue of interest to us, we wonder if Chinese Taipei could further elaborate on its current strategy to develop and increase the competitiveness of their services industry. We would be particularly interested in obtaining further detail with regards to plans for the development of the medicine and healthcare sector, and the cultural services sector.
Mr. Chairman,
With regards to Chinese Taipei’s trade policy, in light of all the comments that were raised before me, I would like to simply focus on two issues that are of interest to us.
First, the “Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA”) between China and Chinese Taipei. Various news agencies have reported that the ECFA has been concluded on June 29th. Details of the agreement are now sketchy, which is understandable at this early stage.
We hope that Chinese Taipei will provide detailed information about the ECFA as much as possible at an early date with a view to helping us better understand this milestone agreement between Chinese Taipei and China.
Second, the SPS regime of Chinese Taipei. We note from the Secretariat report that apparently there is some backlog with regards to the establishment of pesticide tolerance standards. While we appreciate the efforts of the authorities to reduce the backlog by establishing a priority list and working to expedite the overall process, we have been informed by capital that as of today the current situation is adversely affecting the potential for exports to Chinese Taipei of certain fruits and vegetables of export interest to us. In this context, we would like to urge the Chinese Taipei authorities to further speed up the necessary process so that Chinese Taipei’s SPS regime will not be a hindrance to trade.
(3) Concluding Remarks Mr. Chairman,
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Prior to the two week deadline, my delegation submitted various written questions to Chinese Taipei. We are thankful for the written answers provided today; we will study them carefully and revert to some aspects of the answers on the second day if the need arises.
Mr. Chairman,
My remarks would not be complete if I did not include my delegation’s appreciations to Chinese Taipei for their contribution to the advancement of the DDA negotiations.
Korea will continue to work closely with Chinese Taipei, as members of the G-10 for the successful conclusion of the Round.
I would like to conclude by expressing my appreciations to the Chinese Taipei delegation, and wish them all the best for a successful TPR.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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