President Ma Ying-jeou has urged Canada to support Taiwan’s bid to participate in the US-led regional trade bloc, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Ma’s comment came on Tuesday while he was receiving a delegation of Canadian parliamentarians.
President Ma said the United States government has already voiced support for Taiwan to join the TPP, and he hopes Canada will do the same.
“Canada is a G8 country and also an important member of the TPP," said Ma. "We really want to join the TPP in the future. We will become the 6th largest economy in the TPP once we join the trade bloc. The US government has already welcomed our interest in the TPP. We hope that Canada can also lend its support.”
The president said that Taiwan signed an agreement with Canada in January of this year to open its market to Canadian bone-in beef. Because of the agreement, the volume of Canadian beef imports to Taiwan from January to May grew by 125%, while the import value increased by 232% over the same period last year.
Ma said he hopes Taiwan and Canada can sign a bilateral investment agreement and also an agreement to avoid double taxation. He said the two pacts would help improve trade ties between the two countries.