President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of December 9 with Mario Ste-Marie, Executive Director of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei. In addition to welcoming Mr. Ste-Marie to Taiwan to take up his new position, President Ma also expressed hope that both countries can enter into talks as soon as possible on a foreign investment protection agreement, and study the possibility of an economic cooperation agreement, to further deepen bilateral economic and trade ties.
In remarks, President Ma noted that Mr. Ste-Marie has previously served as executive secretary of the Canadian Department of Agriculture, chief of staff in the Office of the Minister of State (Agriculture), and director general of Multimedia and Special Collections at the National Archives of Canada. He is also, said the president, an outstanding diplomat who was on the Canadian negotiating team at the Uruguay Round talks on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1990, has acted as director general of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's Invest in Canada Bureau, and has been posted to India and Australia. Mr. Ste-Marie's posting to Taipei shows the great importance that Canada attaches to its ties with Taiwan, the president added.
Noting that Taiwan and Canada have always maintained very friendly ties, President Ma stated that Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement of congratulations in 2008 and 2012 as soon as Taiwan's presidential election results were confirmed, and followed up by dispatching senior cabinet officials to attend the inaugural ceremonies. In addition, since taking office in 2008 the president has met with 30 Canadian parliamentary delegations representing different parties, and this past March the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada held a "Taiwan Night" celebration that was attended by 61 members of the Canadian Parliament, including six Cabinet members. All these facts show quite clearly how close bilateral relations are.
Commenting on bilateral economic and trade ties, President Ma pointed out that Taiwan is Canada's 12th largest global trading partner, and its fifth largest in Asia. Bilateral trade in 2014 reached almost US$5.5 billion, and two-way investment is booming in service sector areas such as banking, insurance, wholesaling, and retailing. In addition, Canada is one of Taiwan's biggest sources of numerous raw material imports including nickel (No. 1 supplier), iron (No. 3), and coal (No. 5).
President Ma further mentioned that Taiwan and Canada have already concluded negotiations on an avoidance of double taxation agreement (ADTA), and expressed hope that it can be signed soon. The two governments have also reached a consensus on the need to build on the ADTA by negotiating a foreign investment protection agreement. In the future, he said, hopefully Taiwan and Canada can carry out studies, both separately and jointly, on a possible economic cooperation agreement, with an eye to further strengthening bilateral economic, trade, and investment ties.
Turning to the subject of Taiwan's effort to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, President Ma pointed out that TPP members account for 35% of Taiwan's total external trade. Taiwan is the 19th largest trading nation and 26th largest economy in the world, and the 10th largest trading nation among the 21 APEC economies. Canada, for its part, is a key member of the TPP, and like Taiwan is a member of the World Trade Organization and APEC. The president expressed hope that Canada would, for these reasons, support Taiwan's participation in a second round of TPP negotiations so that Taiwan can take active part in the regional economic integration process.