China-South Korea free trade deal worries Taiwan

[C130]

the whole area is very competitive.
Taiwan shouldn't sell it's self out too quickly.

 

[Steve781]

Letter from Seoul: China and South Korea vs. Japan and North Korea? | Dr. Jin Park

 

[TaiShang]

But has the free trade service agreement been cancelled by Taiwan after the violent "Sunflower" demonstrations?

Being shelved, I guess. But, Taiwan is indeed worried about the FTA China signed with Korea.

In my view, China should accept no less than a full trade in services agreement because the Taiwan side seems to be seeking a more enlarged (in Taiwan's favor, of course) trade in goods agreement with the Mainland.

Taiwan responds to mainland China-SK FTA

Taiwan’s machinery sector is one of the industries set to come under the gun when the mainland China-South Korea FTA takes effect. (CNA)

Taiwan must fast-track negotiations with mainland China on a trade in goods agreement to ensure the country is not left on the sidelines of regional economic integration, according to the Cabinet Nov. 10.

“All relevant agencies have been directed to prioritize implementation of liberalization and facilitation measures, as well as concluding ongoing negotiations of economic cooperative agreements,” Cabinet spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun said.

“In addition, no effort will be spared in seeking accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

Sun’s remarks follow reports that mainland China and South Korea have reached consensus on a free trade agreement, with the pact set to be sealed by the end of the year.

“The FTA puts Taiwan at a great disadvantage,” an official from the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. “One of our leading trading partners is mainland China, with bilateral trade reaching US$97.25 billion for the first nine months of the year, or 21.96 percent of Taiwan’s total trade.

“Taiwan and South Korea are very similar in terms of economic development and industrial structure, with 77 percent of their merchandise trade overlapping.”

For the past few years South Korean firms have expanded their presence in the global market on the back of FTAs with major partners like the EU and U.S., ratcheting up the pressure on Taiwan companies.

“The Beijing-Seoul FTA potentially pushes South Korea’s FTA coverage ratio from 41.9 percent to nearly 63 percent, dwarfing Taiwan’s 9.68 percent,” the official said.

Initial MOEA assessments show that Taiwan’s gross domestic product will fall 0.5 percent after the mainland China-South Korea FTA takes effect, with exports dropping 1.34 percent, or US$3.75 billion. About 31.4 percent of industrial products subject to tariffs are to be affected, and nearly 25 percent face even stiffer competition from South Korea.

Evaluations from Taiwan industrial associations reveal that between 2 percent and 5.4 percent of the country’s industrial exports to mainland China could be replaced by those from South Korea. These include display panels, glass, machinery, petrochemicals, steel products and textiles. (SFC-JSM)

 

[TaiShang]

“One of our leading trading partners is mainland China, with bilateral trade reaching US$97.25 billion for the first nine months of the year, or 21.96 percent of Taiwan’s total trade.

That's a huge dependency. China simply chokes Taiwan's economic sphere due to political/strategic calculations. Taiwan has few places to go. If it were not for China, Taiwan would have been one of the most integrated economies in the world in terms of ECAs or FTAs.

This is reality and Taiwan has to deal with the reality. Sunflowerists, in all their romanticism and naivety, have little idea about the larger geopolitics that overpowers them. President Ma acted weakly, which, in fact, did not turn out to be politically in his favor.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

That's a huge dependency. China simply chokes Taiwan's economic sphere due to political/strategic calculations. Taiwan has few places to go. If it were not for China, Taiwan would have been one of the most integrated economies in the world in terms of ECAs or FTAs.

This is reality and Taiwan has to deal with the reality. Sunflowerists, in all their romanticism and naivety, have little idea about the larger geopolitics that overpowers them. President Ma acted weakly, which, in fact, did not turn out to be politically in his favor.

Ma is not only weak, mostly due his anti-CPC mindset.

KMT still hasn't forgotten their overthrowing CPC mission, so that's why we will never truly treat them as our brethren.

 

[kawaraj]

This is posing a challenge to Japanese industry despite South Korea still lags bhind Japan in most industry catalogs.

East Asian industries or economy as a whole is a carefully niched value chain. China itself is upgrading fast in the Chain so any movement or change in the status quo will post huge variance to the regional economy. You might find hard to pull out a orderly manner in a upper-down collaboration.

As for Taiwan, I don't see a chance for it to walk out of the stagnation. It's postion in the value chain will be perfectly substituted by Korean, Japanese or Chinese suppliers.

 

[Ganges Zephyr]

if you said "OK" that means you have understood my comment and also agreed to it.
Your last few words that followed were over-reacting

Of course I understand English and I understood what you wrote and my last few words were intriguing to as what were you trying to convey...another Chinese boasting about how giant China is economically? but unlike my last valid argument with Taishang, I wont deny this fact and humbly accept that you are right about what you wrote but somehow that wasn't the point I and Taishang were discussing

 

[kardeş]

How is Taiwan even in the picture here lol