Premier Su Tseng-chang says that Taiwan won’t have to lift a ban on imports of food from certain parts of Japan in order to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
On Wednesday, Taiwan submitted a formal application to join the CPTPP, which is one of the world’s largest free trade areas. Japan is a member of the CPTPP, and has the largest economy of all current member countries.
Since 2011, Taiwan has banned imports of food from Fukushima and four neighboring Japanese prefectures. That came amid fears of radioactive contamination following the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in the same year.
John Deng, Taiwan’s top trade negotiator, said on Thursday that Taiwan will have to “face the issue” of its import ban on certain Japanese products before it can join the CPTPP. But Premier Su Tseng-chang says the government will not face any preconditions for joining the free trade agreement.
Su points to recent comments by Japan Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on the issue. Motegi says Japan will not force a resolution to the Fukushima food issue in exchange for allowing Taiwan to join the CPTPP.
Su says CPTPP member countries are all important trade partners of Taiwan. He says joining the agreement will increase foreign trade opportunities, improve competitiveness, and boost domestic industry.