Friday, June 11, 2004
The chairman of Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), Hu Seng Cheng said that the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the U.S. and Taiwan is a government priority and he asked different government organization to cooperate in order to accelerate the negotiation process.
Premier Yu Shyi Kun has held a meeting to listen to the opinions of CEPD Chairman Hu, Council of Agriculture Chairman Lee Ching-lung, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Lin-san, and Vice Minister of Economics Chen Ruey-long before the meeting with the US counterparts. Moreover, the economic chief of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said Taiwan should at this stage focus less on the possibility of signing a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States but rather think about how it can improve key issues facing bilateral trade. William Weinstein made those remarks at the monthly luncheon of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham).
The signing of an FTA between Taipei and Washington has been a much talked-about subject in Taiwan of recent. Weinstein stressed currently no FTA talks are underway, and the United States has not even agreed to begin such discussions. But he said Taiwan could figure out ways to improve its trade environment, especially after its entry into the World Trade Organization. Hu to set up a special task force to coordinate different government organizations and forge consensus in areas that the U.S. is concerned with.
By: DocMemory
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