Taiwan’s service sector is set to benefit from a recently concluded free trade agreement (FTA) between New Zealand and South Korea. That was the word from the economics ministry on Thursday.
The 2013 Taiwan-New Zealand FTA requires that any trade concessions the two sides make in FTA’s with other countries also apply to one another. Taiwanese businesses are therefore eligible to receive the same benefits accorded to South Korean companies under the agreement.
Taiwanese companies in the fields of engineering service, photography service, computer maintenance, copying, and exhibitions will be among those to benefit. Investment restrictions on these businesses will be eased. In addition, these companies will also be allowed to set up bases in New Zealand without entering into a joint venture or partnership.
The new allowances come at a time of growing trade in services between Taiwan and New Zealand, led by the travel industry. Between 2013, when the FTA between the two sides took effect, and June 2015, Taiwan’s service sector did NT$970 million (US$29 million) worth of business with New Zealand. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s service industry did NT$3.2 billion (US$96 million) worth of business with Taiwan during the same period.