Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) says the country will continue to promote economic and trade liberalization as part of its efforts to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). That’s despite the fact that trade ministers in the just concluded TPP meeting failed to reach an agreement on the signing of the trade pact. The TPP is a US-led free trade agreement currently being negotiated among 12 Pacific countries.
On Saturday the BOFT said in a statement that Taiwan will continue to make preparations for the participation in the TPP. It also said Taiwan is hoping to join the second round of TPP negotiations.
The BOFT said that over the past year, the government has held some 130 meetings with different industrial organizations and trade unions on Taiwan’s participation in the TPP. It also said the government will continue to communicate with various groups in order to make the general public more aware of the importance of the issue for Taiwan.
In the TPP ministerial meeting held July 28-31 in Hawaii, trade ministers from 12 countries failed to reach a final deal due to disputes cover the auto industry, dairy products, and pharmaceuticals. US Trade Representative Michael Froman said that the negotiators will continue to work on the remaining issues. However, he also said a date has not yet been set for the next ministerial meeting.