Premier Jiang Yi-huah today expressed gratitude to the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham) for promoting Taiwan's bid for membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during a visit by a chamber delegation to Washington, D.C. in June this year.
"AmCham serves as not only an important bridge between the Taiwan government and U.S. business interests but also a reliable communication channel between the governments of the two sides," Jiang said while receiving Chairman Thomas Fann and other AmCham Taipei representatives.
On the annual "Doorknock" trip to the U.S. capital for discussions with executive branch officials dealing with U.S.-Taiwan affairs, members of Congress, think tanks and scholars, the AmCham delegation lobbied for Taiwan's inclusion in the emerging TPP trade grouping and the early implementation of a Taiwan-U.S. bilateral investment agreement (BIA). Both issues are high on the government's agenda, emphasized Jiang.
The government has always paid heed to recommendations offered by AmCham every year, the premier said, adding that Minister Kuan Chung-ming has been pushing to align domestic regulations with global norms ever since taking the helm at the National Development Council (NDC). Jiang hopes the AmCham can feel the benefits of the government's efforts.
Internationalization and liberalization are key to the future of Taiwan's economy and trade, which is why President Ma Ying-jeou and the Executive Yuan would like to see Taiwan join the TPP at the earliest time possible, Jiang said. In 2012 President Ma set a goal of attaining TPP membership within eight years, and last year he instructed the Executive Yuan to finish taking stock of all the preparatory work by this July or August.
To achieve this goal, the Committee on Global Economic and Trade Strategies has been established directly under the premier to convene on a regular basis. Jiang has also requested the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Council of Agriculture (COA), Ministry of Health and Welfare, and Ministry of Transportation and Communications to stay abreast of the economic conditions required by global trade organizations, especially the TPP. This entails examining differences between Taiwan's current regulations and international standards while setting a time frame for resolving related problems.
"Many of these problems are of special concern to AmCham, such as intellectual property rights, medical equipment and pharmaceutical products. The government is working on these issues, and we have amended regulations on a number of them already," said Jiang.
As for concerns over Taiwan's restrictions on U.S. pork imports, the COA has sent a delegation to the U.S. to communicate with officials there. The premier is confident that a final solution can be worked out to allow Taiwan to sign the BIA and join the second round of TPP talks.
Premier Jiang hopes that the Taiwan government and AmCham will continue to maintain open and friendly communications. In addition to designating the NCD as the Executive Yuan's main window, Jiang will instruct other agencies to stay in contact with the chamber as well.