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nealer and fimbres • taiwan and regional trade organizations
Honduras and is in negotiations with Paraguay and the Dominican Republic.
All are countries with which Taiwan maintains full diplomatic relations.
The Obama administration has attempted to deepen economic ties
with Taiwan through a trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA).
Although the agreement was signed in 1994, it has faced political resistance in
Taiwan. Talks were suspended from 2007 until 2013 because of disagreements
over U.S. beef and pork imports in which Taiwan rejected imports it deemed
had high levels of ractopamine, as well as certain parts of the meat. President
Ma eventually smoothed the issue over, and U.S. beef imports were allowed
once again, but Taiwan still does not allow U.S. pork imports. In the eighth
round of TIFA talks in April 2014, the United States and Taiwan agreed
to discuss investment and technical barriers to trade through working
groups. But U.S. participants and regional observers question whether
Taiwan—despite its reliance on trade—has the political will and credibility
to negotiate away barriers that protect powerful domestic constituencies.
According to the 2015 white paper by the American Chamber of Commerce
in Taipei, “unique-to-Taiwan rules and regulations impose heavy burdens,
both for multinational corporations and domestic exporters.” 13 Technical
barriers to trade, in particular, can be used to discourage foreign imports by
enforcing technical regulations and standards, such as packaging, labeling, and
certification requirements that diverge from normal international practice. 14
The latest round of TIFA talks was held in October 2015 and addressed a
number of important trade issues, including bilateral investment, intellectual
property, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products. 15 While the two sides
made headway on several trade issues, including an agreement to bolster
exchanges in enforcing intellectual property rights protection, no agreement
was reached on U.S. pork imports.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership
The TPP is the most significant—and timely—of the myriad trade
liberation agreements that crisscross the Asia-Pacific. In the view of most of
the twelve members who negotiated the trade pact, the TPP has the potential to
be the cornerstone of trade liberalization in the 21st century, providing a new
13 American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, “2015 Taiwan White Paper.”
14 Don Shapiro, “Zeroing in on Trade Obstacles,” American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei u
http://www.amcham.com.tw/topics-archive/topics-archive-2013-0/vol-43-no-09/3964-issues.
15 John Liu, “Latest TIFA Talks ‘Productive’: U.S.,” China Post, October 2, 2015 u
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2015/10/02/447339/Latest-TIFA.htm.
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