President Ma Ying-jeou went to the Taipei Guest House on the evening of July 16 to attend a reception celebrating the signing of the Agreement between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Cooperation (ANZTEC). In addition to praising both countries' negotiators for their efficiency in getting the agreement signed, the president also expressed hope that government officials and agencies charged with hammering out such agreements will continue to break new ground and expand Taiwan's presence in the international economy.
In remarks, the president stated that representatives from Taiwan and New Zealand signed the ANZTEC on July 10 this year. The signing of this pact marked many firsts, he said. To begin with, this is the first time the ROC has signed an economic cooperation agreement with a developed nation, with a country that does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with it, and with a country in the southern hemisphere, he noted. Secondly, some provisions of the agreement go beyond "WTO plus" standards. For example, tariffs on 132 environmental goods that contribute to sustainable development and green growth objectives will go to zero, which is virtually unprecedented, he commented. Other groundbreaking clauses provide for an open skies arrangement, film and TV co-production, and a special chapter on cooperation among indigenous peoples of both countries. Most importantly, the president mentioned, this is the first economic agreement (in the three years since the June 2010 signing of the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement ) between the ROC and a nation with which it does not maintain formal diplomatic ties. This shows that the government's efforts to improve the cross-strait relationship is also helping Taiwan to expand its participation in the international community, he remarked.
President Ma further stated that three years ago when Taiwan and mainland China signed the ECFA, he engaged in a public debate with the chairman of the main opposition party, and he stressed in the debate that Taiwan intended to use mainland China as a conduit to enter the world and to use the world as a conduit to enter mainland China. Both of these ideas could be implemented simultaneously and did not conflict with each other, he said. Now, the two sides on June 21 this year signed the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement, followed by the signing of the ANZTEC on July 10, which shows that the previous vicious cycle between cross-strait ties and Taiwan's international affairs has been replaced by a virtuous cycle.
The president also mentioned that New Zealand is a charter member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and a member of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The signing of the ANZTEC between Taiwan and New Zealand not only demonstrates Taiwan's determination to participate in regional economic integration, but also creates conditions advantageous to Taiwan's effort to join the TPP and the RCEP.
With respect to the possible impact of the ANZTEC on Taiwan's agricultural sector, President Ma noted, the government in the course of negotiations formulated supplementary measures, including the adoption of tariff quotas for products such as liquid milk and fresh deer velvet, which will gradually reduce tariffs to zero over a 12-year period, thereby minimizing the impact upon industries here.
The president emphasized that Taiwan and New Zealand announced on May 18 last year that they would begin negotiating an economic cooperation agreement, and the agreement was signed on July 10 of this year. In this short 14-month period, negotiators from both worked very efficiently, which he specially praised. In the future, he said, the government will continue to "contact many parties and sign agreements with them" as part of an active effort to set up free trade agreements or economic cooperation agreements with major trading partners. The president expressed hope that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the team of negotiators from the ROC will continue to break new ground, expanding Taiwan's international economic and trade blueprint.
Among those attending the reception were Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-Pyng (王金平), Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin (林永樂), Minister of Economic Affairs Chia-Juch Chang (張家祝), and New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office in Taipei Director Stephen Payton.