On January 24, Taiwan’s MOFA expressed the country’s commitment to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), adding that the Taiwanese government is advancing several economic reforms in preparation for the accession bid.
According to MOFA, Taiwan’s relevant ministries and agencies are now in the process of researching and implementing wide-ranging adjustments to Taiwan’s economic and trade policies as well as the industrial sector. The government is also communicating with CPTPP members about these actions in order to raise awareness of the benefits of Taiwan’s participation in the second round of accession talks.
The statement follows an announcement made by the 11 CPTPP members at the conclusion of talks in Tokyo on January 23 that the new Asia-Pacific trade pact will be signed in March at its next summit in Chile. MOFA congratulated the participants for sealing the agreement and stated that Taiwan’s joining the multilateral framework will increase the momentum of regional economic integration.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affair’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, Taiwan’s trade with the 11 CPTPP members reached US$128.99 billion in 2016, or 25.25 percent of the country’s total foreign trade. In light of the scale and volume of trade exchanges as well as the country’s close and long-standing economic ties with CPTPP participants, Taiwan’s inclusion in the agreement would significantly benefit all parties and provide a major boost to the process of regional economic integration.
