AmCham Taipei 2015 White Paper Press Conference

Find it online at:
www.amcham.com.tw

“Taiwan and the TPP:
the Time is Now”
Thomas Fann
Chairman
American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei
June 4, 2015
The 2015 Taiwan White Paper
1

Industry Sector Issues
Position papers from 22 Committees,
plus 2 papers from non-Committee member
groups (Chiropractic, Tobacco).
A total of 77 separate Issues
2

White Paper’s Chief Components
1. Foreword and status review
2. Overview: Overall Assessment of
Taiwan’s Current Business
Environment
3. Messages to the U.S. Government
4. Sector-specific Position Papers
3

Foreword
Progress on 2014 WP issues:
3 Issues “Resolved”:
Conclusive action taken, no longer a problem.
15 issues “Showing Good Progress”
Together those two categories equal 22% of the total –
the second highest proportion in the past five years.
4

Items Resolved
Infrastructure:
Awarding turnkey public contracts by two-
stage “selective tendering.”
Insurance:
Enabling brokers to also do reinsurance
brokering under the same contract.
Telecommunications & Media:
Effective introduction of 4G mobile service.
5

Committees with Issues showing
Good Progress
• Asset Management
• Banking
• Chemical
Manufacturers
• Customs &
International Trade
• Human Resources
• Manufacturing
• Pharmaceutical
• Retail
• Technology
• Telecommunication
& Media
• Travel & Tourism
6

Main Themes
• Preparation for a second-round TPP candidacy
needs to start now.
• Bring regulatory regime in line with accepted
international norms and practices.
• Adopt measures to enhance transparency.
• Create high-level task force to promote TPP.
• Attend to power, water, and HR issues.
Overview:
7

Coming Down to the Wire
The Ma administration has highlighted the critical
importance for Taiwan of gaining admission
into TPP in the second round. Taiwan’s trade-
dependent economy otherwise risks becoming
increasingly marginalized.
Taiwan and the TPP: the Time is Now
8

The opposition DPP has also expressed its
backing for TPP membership.
AmCham enthusiastically supports Taiwan’s
plan to seek inclusion into the TPP.
9

As the TPP could come into effect next year,
Taiwan needs to take decisive action to
establish its credibility as a proponent of trade
liberalization.
Despite Taiwan’s prominence in as a trading
economy, it cannot simply assume it will be
welcomed into the TPP. No invitations will be
issued. Would-be candidates must apply.
10

Acceptance will require unanimous consent from
all 12 initial TPP members, so Taiwan will first
need to resolve major outstanding trade
disputes with all 12 countries.
11

Adhering to Accepted Practices
Although Taiwan is an excellent place to do
business, it still has some deficiencies in
regulatory procedures.
Correcting those shortcomings will be important for
TPP accession, but even more so to strengthen
the business climate and stimulate economic
growth.
12

Unique-to-Taiwan, often ultra-strict, rules and
regulations impose heavy burdens, both for
multinational corporations and domestic exporters.
13

These Taiwan-unique regulations may be well-intentioned
but are cumbersome and difficult to enforce. They may
also cause higher costs for consumers and lead to trade
disputes.
14

The committee position papers cite examples from
such areas as:
• medical device pricing
• definition of “patent” for preferential drug pricing
• recycling labeling
• regulations on e-commerce for financial services
• control of cosmetics advertising
• and the treatment of the healthcare profession of
chiropractic.
15

The Core Question: Transparency
Inadequate transparency is the root cause
of many of the defects in Taiwan’s regulatory
system.
16

• Important policy changes sometimes aren’t adequately
communicated to the public
• The public-comment period often is too short.
• Respondents generally receive no feedback.
• Public hearings often provide little chance for a full airing
of concerns.
• A new rule is often already in force before the difficulties
in actually enforcing it become apparent.
17

Taiwan might study how transparency is fostered in the
United States through the Administrative Procedures Act
(APA) and related laws and regulations.
Transparency is also a chapter in all recent FTAs
negotiated by the U.S., and is expected to be covered in
TPP as well.
18

With sufficient discussion, potential problems in
proposed new regulations can be discovered and
dealt with early in the process.
19

Needed Institutions
The Premier should create a TPP Preparation Task Force
to ensure that the individual ministries and agencies follow
through properly to carry out reforms.
Besides monitoring Executive-branch progress, the task
force would oversee communications with the public and
the Legislative Yuan to build a sense of national mission
behind the goal of TPP accession.
20

Needed Institutions
The government will need to
make the case that the country has
much to gain by participating in TPP,
and much to lose from exclusion.
21

Needed Institutions
The TPP Task Force should highlight the
disadvantages Taiwan faces from being blocked from
becoming party to important bilateral and multilateral FTAs.
The domestic business community could also organize a
Coalition to promote TPP membership for the sake of
Taiwan’s economic growth and employment.
22

Needed Institutions
TPP is an opportunity to rebalance Taiwan’s trade
and investment, reducing the heavy dependence
on the China market (for both economic and
strategic benefits).
It opens an alternative way to benefit from being
part of a much larger market to expand trade and
attract investment.
23

Additional Concerns
Assuring a stable energy supply is crucial. Resource-poor
Taiwan has no ideal options in this regard. The best
solution appears to be a combination of:
• Further energy conservation
• Use of a broad mix of power-generation technologies,
including relicensing the existing nuclear plants.
24

Additional Concerns
Taiwan also faces immense challenges in maintaining a
consistently sufficient water supply. Tackling the problem
should include:
• Pricing-policy adjustments
• Increased recycling
• Use of IT technology to lessen leakage.
25

Additional Concerns
AmCham commends the government for taking steps to
liberalize regulations to enable more foreign talent to
reside and be employed in Taiwan.
Vital questions impacting Taiwan’s future cannot wait. We
urge both the ruling and opposition parties to ensure that
the upcoming political season does not distract from efforts
to make solid achievement for the benefit of the people of
Taiwan.
26

Messages to the U.S. Government
1. Hold the 2015 TIFA Council meeting in the
coming months and in the future maintain a rigid
annual schedule.
2. Support Taiwan’s eventual candidacy for TPP
participation.
3. Continue to enhance the bilateral
relationship, for example by sending high-level U.S.
officials on regular visits.
27

Questions?
Comments?
Thank You for Attending
The 2015 White Paper is Available to
download in English and Chinese at
www.amcham.com.tw

AmCham Taipei 2015 White Paper Press Conference

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (12)

Similar to AmCham Taipei 2015 White Paper Press Conference

Similar to AmCham Taipei 2015 White Paper Press Conference (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

AmCham Taipei 2015 White Paper Press Conference