Cabinet Secretary-General Lee Meng-yan says the government stands ready to assist farmers offset the effects of Taiwan’s potential accession to the CPTPP. That came during a meeting at the Cabinet on Wednesday morning.
The CPTPP is a free trade agreement involving eleven countries, including Japan, Canada, and Australia. Taiwan submitted a formal application to enter the free trade agreement last Wednesday.
There is growing concern that if Taiwan does join the CPTPP, the country’s farmers will face stiffer competition from other countries in the trade bloc.
Lawmaker Chuang Jui-hsiung says that when Taiwan joined WTO, the government set aside NT$100 billion (US$36 billion) to help Taiwan’s farmers offset losses associated with lowered tariffs. Chuang says that the CPTPP’s conditions are far more liberal than those of the WTO, and that he is concerned that farmers will need even more assistance to maintain their livelihoods under the CPTPP.
However, Cabinet Secretary-General Lee says that Taiwan’s agricultural sector has room to become more competitive. He says that the CPTPP will subject Taiwan’s agricultural products to more international standards, which will improve Taiwan’s product image in other countries in the long run.