President Tsai Ing-wen has pledged her commitment to advancing free trade in seeking US support for Taiwan joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Tsai was speaking on Tuesday while meeting Marcus Jadotte, the US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis.
Tsai said the countries that have already signed up for the TPP account for over one-third of Taiwan’s total trade. She also said she was committed to bringing about industrial restructuring for Taiwan to meet requirements for membership.
Tsai said, “We are starting to open up adjustments to our internal industrial structure, together with related work to strengthen our competitiveness, as well as creating the internal regulations and systems to match them. This will allow us to be on track internationally and make us more competitive.”
Tsai also said that Taiwan is interested in a number of agreements that the United States is negotiating under the WTO framework in the areas of communications, services and environmental products. She said her government is keen to participate and help such agreements reach fruition.