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The Australia-Taiwan and ROC-Australia business councils have backed Taiwan’s application into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
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Taipei Economic and Cultural Office representative Douglas Hsu met with Legislators Yi-Ying Chiu, Po-Yi Lee, and Pei-Yi Wu at the 37th Joint Conference of the Australia-Taiwan and ROC-Australia Business Councils on the Gold Coast for the opportunity.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) free trade agreement exists between Australia and 10 other trans-Pacific countries. The UK signed the protocol of accession in July 2023 and entry into force of the agreement will take place once the UK and CPTPP parties have finished their legislative processes.
Taiwan, a formal member of the World Trade Organisation, formally submitted its application to join CPTPP on 22 September 2021.
“The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership is about to grow from its founding membership of 11 states to 12 with the accession of the UK,” a public statement from the Australia-Taiwan Business and ROC-Australia business councils said.
“Others that have filed applications to join are the People’s Republic of China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Taiwan.
“The usefulness of the CPTPP is being demonstrated by the extent to which companies are choosing to preference its trading arrangements over others that may be available, including bilateral free trade agreements, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and other multi-partner arrangements such as Australia/New Zealand/ASEAN.
“The CPTPP was designed, from its original conceptualisation, as a new-model comprehensive economic arrangement that requires a considerable degree of societal as well as technical common ground.
“Taiwan applied to join on 22nd September 2021. It clearly and importantly shares the objectives and aspirations of the agreement’s founding members. It has met without controversy, its commitments under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum of which it is a full member. Taiwan has been a member of good standing within the World Trade Organisation since 2002.
“The Australia-Taiwan Business Council (ATBC) has supported Taiwan’s application to join the CPTPP since it was submitted. The council believes strongly that mutual membership of the CPTPP would boost measurably the considerable amount of trade already conducted between Australia and Taiwan – with the latter ranked Australia’s sixth biggest market for goods-and-services exports (worth AU$23.5 billion) in 2023 by DFAT. The Taiwan market would grow both in size and in breadth, as more Australian businesses would be attracted to consider selling there by the head-turning effect provided by CPTPP membership.
“Ease of doing business – including mutual direct investment - would naturally be enhanced, and Taiwan’s complementary economic profile would be elevated. Australian corporations would be encouraged to seize these fresh opportunities as they became more familiar with and confident in the rules-based nature of the Taiwan business world. The welcome nature of this new opening would be especially marked in Taiwan’s case since it is the only one of Australia’s top 10 economic partners with which it lacks a bilateral free trade agreement.
“Taiwan’s high-tech excellence and Australia’s top-class resources and service sectors would naturally align to benefit both, within the overall umbrella of CPTPP disciplines.
“The ATBC and ROCABC/CIECA strongly support Taiwan’s application to join the CPTPP and is looking forward to seizing the opportunity that mutual membership would bring.”
