President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of May 28 with Ambassador Dacio Castillo, the Permanent Representative from Honduras to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Ambassador Alfredo Suescum, the Permanent Representative from Panama to the WTO, and Mrs. Suescum. The president extended a cordial welcome to the visitors and briefed them on Taiwan's achievements in protecting intellectual property rights and its efforts to take active part in regional economic integration.
In remarks, President Ma first commented that the two ambassadors are attorneys with deep knowledge of the law who currently chair the regular and special sessions, respectively, of the WTO Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and who maintain frequent and strong interaction with Taiwan's permanent mission to the WTO. The president noted that Ambassador Castillo is visiting Taiwan for the third time, while this marks the first visit to Taiwan by Ambassador Suescum from Panama. Apart from sharing with Taiwan their experience in multilateral negotiations under the WTO umbrella, the two ambassadors are in Taiwan to participate in a seminar held by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research on the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, he said. The president expressed hope that this interaction will help to further deepen the relationship between Taiwan and the WTO in this area.
Speaking on trade liberalization, President Ma noted that Taiwan joined WTO negotiations in 2002 with the expectation that these multilateral negotiations would lead to trade liberalization. However, as negotiations at the Doha round of talks stalled, countries throughout the world changed course and began the negotiation of bilateral free trade agreements and regional economic integration. The president remarked that because of the ROC's unique diplomatic situation, the government's success in this area has been somewhat limited. Fortunately, he said, in December 2013 the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali resulted in adoption of the Bali Package, which constituted a major breakthrough. The president remarked he was quite pleased by the developments in this regard.
President Ma also explained to the visitors that Taiwan finally in 2002, after many years of efforts, became a formal member of the WTO, and it hoped that in the years following that it could take advantage of its WTO membership to play an important role in the international economic and trade system.
In discussing Taiwan's efforts with respect to intellectual property rights, President Ma further explained that after Taiwan's entry into the WTO on January 1, 2002, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office under the Ministry of Economic Affairs was given responsibility for handling related affairs, and then in July 2008, after he took office, Taiwan established the Intellectual Property Court, which the two ambassadors were scheduled to visit during their current trip. The president commented he was certain that the court will help strengthen protection of intellectual property rights in Taiwan. In addition, he said, colleges and universities have established curricula to cultivate intellectual property talent.
President Ma then explained the efforts Taiwan is making to participate in regional economic integration. He stated that the ROC has already signed free agreements with Panama and Honduras, and these pacts have effectively increased Taiwan's bilateral trade with each of these countries. He pointed out that last year Taiwan signed economic cooperation agreements with New Zealand and Singapore, with customs tariffs reduced on over 99.5% of products covered in the agreements. High-quality agreements like these, he said, will significantly boost Taiwan's efforts to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
President Ma furthermore stated that Taiwan's trade volume with TPP member nations was nearly US$200 billion in 2013, or roughly 35% of Taiwan's total trade. Meanwhile, Taiwan's trade volume with RCEP member nations in that year totaled US$325 billion, equivalent to about 57% of Taiwan's total trade. This, he said, highlights the urgent need for Taiwan to join these two economic partnership agreements. The president noted that the government is actively working to create the conditions that will be conducive to Taiwan's speedy entry into the TPP and the RCEP.
Lastly, President Ma mentioned that the success of the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference has been an important step in rebuilding confidence throughout the world in the multilateral trade system. The ROC, he said, places great importance on the WTO and is pleased to see the positive outcome of that meeting. The president expressed hope that Taiwan and the WTO can work together to enable the multilateral trading organization to better serve its intended function.