Negating and smearing the Cross Strait Service Trade Agreement deviates from the true needs of Taiwan's economy

2023-06-30

Whether to let the cross-strait service trade agreement come into effect or restart the service trade agreement negotiations with the mainland has recently become the focus of discussion among political figures of different spectra on the island. Even after nearly a decade of ups and downs, those who care about Taiwan's politics will not feel unfamiliar with related topics. In June 2013, the ARATS and the Taiwan Straits Foundation signed the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement and announced the opening list. This agreement is also one of the agreements signed through subsequent negotiations of the Cross Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). But in the eyes of industry insiders, the longer the interval between the economic and trade cooperation agreements that caused a huge uproar in the past, the more positive it can be seen for Taiwan's economy. The ECFA early harvest list only includes tariff reductions for some products and the opening up of some service industries. Within this coverage, as of the end of 2022, the cumulative tariff reduction and exemption from mainland China to Taiwan has exceeded 8.5 billion US dollars. There are 61 financial enterprises and over 2000 non-financial enterprises in Taiwan that have utilized relevant preferential policies to provide services in mainland China. Looking at the economic ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the mainland has remained the largest export market (accounting for about 40%) and source of trade surplus in Taiwan. Taiwan's dependence on the mainland market is constantly increasing, and the formation of a common market has become an inevitable trend. The failure to implement the service trade agreement has deeply affected the interests of Taiwan's industry and people, and has had a significant negative impact on the economy. Looking only at the economic data since the beginning of this year, due to the global economic downturn, Taiwan's exports have continued to be weak, private investment activities have slowed down, and institutions have lowered their annual economic growth rate to 1.45%, far below expectations. During the election time on the island, officials from the Democratic Progressive Party did not forget to further smear the service trade agreement and attack those who support it; Even data claims suggest that in recent years, Taiwan's economy has been able to grow significantly without a service trade agreement. Recently, Taiwanese media commented that if the service trade agreement really will make Taiwan's economy irreversible, why not do everything and immediately terminate the application of ECFA? On the contrary, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have repeatedly stated that they do not want the mainland to suspend the ECFA, which covers a smaller scope, and believe that the agreement is "beneficial to both sides of the Taiwan Strait". The two statements before and after are seriously contradictory. The DPP authorities are well aware that the service industry, which provides over 60% of employment opportunities, has now become a "pain" for Taiwan. Taiwan's technology services, financial services, medical services and other industries, which were once in a dominant position in Asia, have been hindered by policy closures and narrow markets for a long time, and wage growth has lagged far behind the manufacturing industry. Zhu Fenglian, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, responded to a reporter's question on the 28th, saying that ECFA has only built a framework for the normalization and liberalization of cross-strait economic relations. The early harvest list only includes tariff reduction and exemption of some products and the opening of some service industries. The greater dividend should be reflected in the subsequent ECFA agreements on cross-strait trade in goods and services. Whether we can face up to the authorized negotiations and agreements reached between the two cross-strait meetings, maintain the authority of the agreement, and have a bearing on Taiwan's people's livelihood and economy

Edit:XiaoWanNing    Responsible editor:YingLing

Source:China News Service Website

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