Revitalizing the economy Chairman Ma: Eliminating trade barriers to increase partners

Revitalizing the economy Chairman Ma: Eliminating trade barriers to increase partners Contribution from the Cultural Communication Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang Chairman Ma Ying-jeou of the Chinese Kuomintang today (12th)…

Contribution from the Cultural Communication Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang

Ma Ying-jeou, Chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang, said today (12th) that although the economic environment is not optimistic, people should not be discouraged. The government has achieved concrete results in its efforts to eliminate trade barriers and increase economic partners. He emphasized that the government's efforts during the recession, including export promotion, investment promotion, talent training and industrial transformation, will improve the environment step by step. As long as the government takes the lead in improving efficiency and laying a solid foundation, he believes that difficulties can be overcome and out of the difficulties. The Central Standing Committee of the Kuomintang today invited Minister of Economic Affairs Shi Yanxiang to give a special report on "The Fundamental Work of Revitalizing the Economy - Improving the International Competitiveness of the Industry." After listening to the report, Chairman Ma emphasized that among the Four Asian Tigers, my country has the opportunity to rank second in economic growth rate next year. The government must not only strive for exports, but also promote investment. At least 140 billion will be invested in public investment in the second half of the year to achieve a multiplier effect as soon as possible; financial institutions have excess deposits, which shows that funds are still quite abundant. The government should take the lead in finding suitable investment channels and work hard to propose new investment plans. Chairman Ma said that the government has achieved concrete results in removing trade barriers and increasing economic partners. He pointed out that in terms of trade with the mainland, among the unfinished parts of ECFA, service trade is scheduled to be completed this year and goods trade next year, bringing our work on trade liberalization with the world's second largest economy to an end. As for trade with Japan, Chairman Ma said that the investment agreement signed with Japan last year has led to a wave of Japanese investment in Taiwan; Japanese companies are willing to invest in Taiwan and are willing to use the good export environment created by ECFA to strengthen investment in the machinery industry and other aspects. The two sides are currently discussing how to further strengthen bilateral economic and trade relations. In terms of trade with the United States, Chairman Ma pointed out that the Taiwan-U.S. Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) established in 1994 was suspended five years ago, causing Taiwan-U.S. economic and trade negotiations to stall. With the efforts of the government, Honorary Chairman Lien Chan reached an agreement with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when he attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference (APEC) two days ago. He is willing to work towards resuming TIFA negotiations and will send high-level business personnel to Taiwan in the near future for preparatory consultations with the government. Chairman Ma emphasized that "although TIFA is not a panacea, it is a stepping stone" that will allow us to restart negotiations with the United States and gradually open up the situation by pushing building blocks. In addition, even the honorary chairman also discussed issues related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with Hillary. We are actively seeking to join the TPP within eight years. Chairman Ma said that the TPP is a high-quality regional economic integration. From the beginning, 85% to 90% of goods tariffs will be reduced to zero, so it will still have an impact on us. However, we are negotiating FTAs ​​with New Zealand and Singapore, two countries that are already members of the TPP. The government can adjust the goals at any time, gradually increase the degree of liberalization in Taiwan, and complete the goals within eight years, so that our manufacturers do not have to suffer due to tariffs when competing, and the conditions for external competition are better.