Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-09-26-Speech-1-095-000"
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"en.20110926.18.1-095-000"2
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"Mr President, allow me to present the Commission’s reply to this question on behalf of my colleague, Commissioner Karel De Gucht.
I should first like to thank Parliament for having asked this question, as it gives us the opportunity to address the subject of our trade relations with Taiwan. To place these relations in context, it is worth mentioning that Taiwan is our fifteenth largest trade partner, with a trade balance in its favour, whilst the European Union is Taiwan’s main foreign investor. We certainly want to strengthen and develop this relationship. As you know, the Commission Communication of 10 November 2010 on Trade, Growth and World Affairs, which sets out the Commission’s vision for the future of our trade policy, stresses the need to strengthen our relationships, primarily with strategic partners such as the United States, Russia and Japan, and others in the same category.
The communication also recognises the importance of the emerging economies, especially those in Asia. It does not mention Taiwan as a specific priority, but the communication in itself already provides a useful framework for relations with these economies. Although we do not have a formal agreement with Taiwan, we have a trade dialogue that works well and also provides a basis for addressing the future of our relationship.
As regards Taiwan’s trade relations with the rest of the world in general, the most recent event is the negotiation of a framework economic cooperation agreement with China, which we view as a major step forward. Indeed, good relations between China and Taiwan are crucial both from a practical point of view and from the point of view of our One China policy.
This agreement is not a free trade agreement as such, but a framework agreement that will be added to in certain areas. I think it is still too soon to know what opportunities this framework agreement will generate for European industry, but we should bear in mind that the furthering of trade ties between Taiwan and China will create new opportunities for our businesses in the region, and not act as an obstacle. In any case, we are following this development very closely.
As regards a free trade agreement between the EU and Taiwan, it is important to take Taiwan’s unique situation into consideration, especially in terms of its relationship with China. One of the arguments that Taiwan puts forward is that an agreement of this kind would create new opportunities for European businesses, not only in Taiwan but in mainland China also. The sizeable volume of Taiwan’s investments in China illustrates the extent of its relationship with China, whilst the European Union is also one of China’s major investors.
We should therefore view the strengthening of ties between Taiwan and China as a positive factor in the wider context of our economic links with the region as a whole, including China. From this point of view, it is important to avoid a false start that might jeopardise the development of good relations between China and Taiwan, or that might threaten our own relations with China and Taiwan.
At this stage, the Commission feels it is not appropriate to begin a negotiation process for a free trade agreement with Taiwan, for the reasons I have just mentioned. As for other negotiations, there are certainly other areas that we could look into, to see if they might constitute building blocks for developing and strengthening our relations. The process to analyse these areas is currently under way. We will be having consultations in Taipei on 25 October, on which we are ready to feed back to the Committee on International Trade. We will look into what action is needed in order to follow up on whatever information we obtain during these talks."@en1
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