The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Tuesday that Taiwan has a great chance of joining the US-led regional trade pact Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).
According to the text on the agreement, Taiwan meets the credentials for becoming a member. The government will bring to TPP members Taiwan’s intention to join and explain Taiwan’s current trade liberalization condition.
Foreign ministry official Kay Lin said on Tuesday there are two conditions for joining the TPP. One is the country must be a member of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in which Taiwan is a member. The other is that the country’s bid to join must be approved by the current TPP members.
Lin said currently the 12 TPP members are going through the agreement approval process within their countries before dealing with new members that intend to join. Lin said the government will keep watch for the timetable for joining the TPP.
“After the foreign ministry takes inventory of Taiwan’s trade systems, the office will again emphasize to the member countries Taiwan’s determination to join the TPP and report the positive results of trade liberalization in Taiwan," said Lin.
"The most important thing now is to see how they complete the approval process within their countries. After the process goes into effect, I believe there is a great chance that Taiwan will be able to join [the TPP].”
Lin said the foreign ministry will use different opportunities, such as the upcoming APEC summit and the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in December to seek support for Taiwan’s bid to join the TPP.