US East Asia policy expert Alan Romberg says that Taiwan must show its determination to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is a proposed free trade agreement that would include many of the countries along the Pacific Rim.
Romberg was speaking at an event held at Washington-based think tank The Stimson Center on Thursday, local time. The event focused on changes in cross-strait relations under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which Taiwan and China signed in 2010.
The event’s main speaker, visiting fellow JoAnn Fan, discussed the state of Taiwanese society from the signing of ECFA through the Sunflower Student Movement earlier in the year. She said that she believes China’s attitude towards Taiwan is a major stumbling block on Taiwan’s road towards integrating into the regional economy, on which joining the TPP is considered a major step.
However, Romberg said that as far as the US government is concerned, Taiwan’s eligibility to join the TPP has nothing to do with ECFA or China but rather Taiwan’s own determination to do so. He said that one key area of concern for the US government is Taiwan’s stance on allowing imports of US beef and pork into the country.