Next Talks Between Taiwan And China Will Not Include ECFA

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

09 December 2009

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou has emphasized that negotiations on the proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) will not be part of the next round of cross-strait talks between Taiwan and China, due to take place this month.

The forthcoming talks, between PK Chiang, chairman of Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation, and Chen Yunlin, president of the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits, will examine the issues of double taxation avoidance, fisheries cooperation, and the certification and quarantining of agricultural produce.

The President has requested the relevant parts of government to publish the results after the meetings.

Recently, there has been a certain level of doubt being expressed in Taiwan over the ECFA, particularly concerning the future level of Chinese imports, consequent Taiwanese unemployment and a loss of national independence.

The President has therefore also stressed that, before any signing of the ECFA, the government make a full report to the Legislative Yuan for its review, and that it will meanwhile take more action to communicate its benefits to the wider populace.

The Taiwanese government, itself, appears to remain convinced that Taiwan needs the ECFA, not only to normalise trade relations with China, but also to prevent the country being left outside of the large number of bilateral and regional trade agreements now being concluded in Asia, which would constrain the development of Taiwanese industry.

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