Will the US and Taiwan sign an official free trade agreement, or just do it informally through the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement? A formal one would go a longer way in giving other countries the guts to do the same. While tariff-free access to the US market is nice, the gains arenāt that huge and the ripple effect of other countryās signing FTAs with Taiwan are more beneficial. We should do it before Trump leaves office, because this administration hasnāt been shy about overtly sticking it to China. Japan has signaled that it would sign one with Taiwan once the US does. UK has also been contemplating one with Taiwan and this might push them over.
Japan has voiced its support for Taiwanās entry into the CPTPP. But Abe is resigning, and he has been a great friend to Taiwan. Whoever his successor is will likely not be as close to Taiwan (reversion to the mean). Currently, the only non-allies Taiwan has FTAs with are New Zealand and Singapore.
More FTAs means more foreign investment.
Look at Tsaiās legacy if this thing goes through.
-Pension Reform
-Facilitation of Rise in inward tourism from Japan, Korea, and NSB countries
-Balancing the budget and lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio to 31% -USFTA that raised salaries after a decade-long stagnation
The only thing she has left on her to-do list is to start developing indigenous weaponry.
I know people argue about that sort of thing, but itās pretty much impossible to tell because agriculture appeared centuries before written histories.
As far as I can tell, obesity was only ever a luxury of the privileged. If you were too fat to move around, youād either not be able to earn a living or youād be too slow to outrun the raiders from the next village. Either way, you wouldnāt last long.
Back to the topic at hand ā¦ I agree itās hypocritical to keep out American beef when the local meat industry standards are as bad, if not worse. Itās just a little sad that it sends all the wrong signals, ie., business as usual, we can keep on abusing nature until, uh, the next time nature fights back.
Science aside, this is an interesting political manoeuver by Tsai.
Think about it: the KMT is in disarray and have just been booted out of Kaohsiung City. The DPP has high approval for the way the central government authorities have handled the COVID crisis. Itās holding a lot of political capital and is willing to cash it in, even if it means alienating part of its base in the south.
The last time the party made this kind of measured calculation was with same sex marriage. Yes it cost them some support, but they still won. I suspect a similar sort of calculation may be at play here too.
Looking at the Taiwan press, this is going to be an uphill battle. Any threat or perceived threat to farmersā livelihoods bring together economic, social and political interests.