Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06AITTAIPEI774
2006-03-09 22:52:00
CONFIDENTIAL
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Cable title:
AN ECONOMIC VIEW OF TAIWAN'S FUTURE, U.S. INTERESTS
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C O N F I D E N T I A L AIT TAIPEI 000774
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2031
TAGS: ECON IO PREL TW
SUBJECT: AN ECONOMIC VIEW OF TAIWAN'S FUTURE, U.S. INTERESTS
Classified By: AIT Acting Director David Keegan,
Reasons: 1.4 (b/d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L AIT TAIPEI 000774
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2031
TAGS: ECON IO PREL TW
SUBJECT: AN ECONOMIC VIEW OF TAIWAN'S FUTURE, U.S. INTERESTS
Classified By: AIT Acting Director David Keegan,
Reasons: 1.4 (b/d)
1. (SBU) Summary: Taiwan Minister-without-portfolio Ho
Mei-yueh emphasized that Taiwan considers a Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) with the United States to be its top economic
and political priority in a February 23 meeting with the AIT
Acting Director. Ho also briefly discussed Taiwan's new
cabinet and investment in China. A thought-piece on the
strategic outlook behind Ho's remarks will follow septel.
End summary.
2. (SBU) During a February 23 courtesy call, Acting AIT
Director asked former Minister of Economic Affairs and now
Minister-without-portfolio Ho Mei-yueh what she considered to
be her top priority in her new position. Without hesitation,
Ho identified an FTA with the United States as her
government's top priority. She then launched into a detailed
presentation on the benefits of an FTA for both Taiwan and
the United States, strategies for promoting an FTA, and
issues that need to be resolved prior to an FTA.
U.S. Line of Strategic Defense Will Be Broken
--------------
3. (SBU) Minister Ho said she believed that a bilateral FTA
would greatly benefit not only Taiwan but also the United
States in terms of both economic and strategic interests.
She said that without an FTA with the United States, Taiwan
will have no option but to increase its already considerable
economic integration with China, which would inevitably lead
to a situation wherein Taiwan loses its ability to take
independent economic or political action. She argued that if
Taiwan loses its ability to resist China's economic pressure
this would render moot any military defense. Without an FTA
with the United States, she claimed, Taiwan will be forced by
economics to tilt towards China, breaking the U.S. strategic
defense line in the Far East, which goes through Japan, South
Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Minister Ho's arguments
were overwhelmingly geo-strategic rather than economic. Like
many high-ranking officials in the Chen Administration, she
made no bones that she views China as a hostile country that
intends to establish its hegemony in East Asia to the
detriment of Japan (which many in Chen's government greatly
admire) and other traditional U.S. allies in the region.
Why Taiwan Should Come Before Korea
--------------
4. (SBU) Minister Ho said that Taiwan was very concerned
about the damage to Taiwan industries that might result if
the United States signed an FTA with South Korea, but not
Taiwan. Taiwan, she said, would lose much of the U.S. market
for high-tech products where Taiwan and South Korea are keen
rivals. As an example, she noted that the U.S. now charges
7.5% import duty on LCD display screens, and that elimination
of this duty through an FTA would hand this competitive
sector to South Korea.
5. (SBU) The United States would benefit more from an FTA
with Taiwan than an FTA with South Korea, Ho claimed. Taiwan
is one of the largest buyers of U.S. agricultural products,
and could be buying even more, whereas an FTA with South
Korea would lead to keen competition from South Korean
business firms in automobiles, and iron and steel.
6. (SBU) While an FTA with China is not in the interest of
the United States, Ho maintained, an FTA with Taiwan would
help prevent Taiwan's economic marginalization. Despite
extensive industrial relocation to China, Taiwan still
produces a number of high-tech products important to the
United States, and is a leader in some textile and chemical
technologies. Without an FTA beween the United States and
Taiwan, these strategic industries will inevitably migrate to
other countries, probably China, Ho claimed, thereby making
the United States less secure and making Taiwan less
prosperous.
How Taiwan Pushes Its Policies
--------------
7. (SBU) Ho said that Taiwan has made great efforts to lobby
officials in the United States, including state legislators.
Ho said that over half of the U.S. state legislatures have
passed resolutions to support a U.S. FTA with Taiwan.
8. (SBU) The AIT Acting Director noted that U.S. business
firms play a far greater role in FTA decisions than do
states. In response to Ho's expressed fear that such firms
would remain silent to prevent PRC retaliation, he observed
that U.S. firms likely have a variety of ways to communicate
this message through non-public channels.
Issues to be Resolved
--------------
9. (SBU) Ho identified four trade issues that she believes
Taiwan needs to be resolved before an FTA between the United
States and Taiwan can be considered: IPR, rice,
pharmaceuticals, and U.S. beef. She expressed optimism that
differences on these issues could be resolved. She claimed
that Taiwan has made significant improvement in IPR
protection over the past three years, and noted that Taiwan
has re-opened to imports of U.S. beef. According to Ho,
Taiwan's criteria for accepting U.S. beef were not as strict
as Japan's. Japan would only accept meat from cows younger
than 20 months, while Taiwan allows meat from cattle up to 30
months. Ho said the re-opening to U.S. beef imports came in
spite of heavy criticism from legislators. She said that
Chen Lu-hung had recently retired as Director General of the
Department of Health Food Sanitation Bureau as a result of
the criticism of re-opening U.S. beef imports.
10. (C) Note: Chen had told AIT prior to his retirement at
the end of December that the political flap over beef did not
push him to retire and he emphasized that his retirement
would not change the Department of Health's rigorous,
science-based approach to regulating food imports. End Note.
11. (SBU) Ho believes the rice issue is almost resolved.
Taiwan has accepted U.S. requests on rice quota allocations.
Ho anticipated heavy political pressure on rice may again
lead to the resignation of a senior agriculture official.
12. (SBU) On pharmaceuticals, Minister Ho thought that
co-payment by patients for innovative pharmaceuticals might
be a possible solution to differences on pricing and the use
of generic drugs. She suggested that patients could pay the
difference between name-brand drugs and generic ones. Ho
said she will promote an amendment to the law making this
possible.
Taiwan Cabinet
--------------
13. (SBU) During the meeting, Ho also discussed briefly the
functioning of Taiwan's Executive Yuan (EY, composed of the
Premier, Vice Premier, Secretary General, and 15 ministers).
Eight of the 15 EY ministers are in charge of ministries, and
the remaining seven are ministers without portfolio. All of
the cabinet members and heads of councils, commissions, and
administrations attend cabinet meetings. One of the main
duties of ministers without portfolio is to coordinate all
relevant ministerial agencies on issues assigned to them by
the Premier or Vice Premier. She has been assigned issues
coming from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Council of
Agriculture, the Fair Trade Commission, and the Consumer
Protection Commission.
Investment in China
--------------
14. (SBU) Minister Ho mentioned that she had read of U.S.
officials citing extremely high figures of Taiwan investment
in China. She said that Taiwan's investment in China is
US$45 billion according to Taiwan data. She believed that the
actual figure should be about US$70-100 billion; the
difference mainly reflects reinvestment of earnings by Taiwan
companies. She noted Taiwan's law does not require
registration of such reinvestment.
Comment:
--------------
15. (C) Ho's polished hour-long presentation on the merits
of an FTA with the United States clearly reflected a deep
familiarity with the subject. Ho has a well-deserved
reputation for doing her homework. She is unusual among
high-level DPP officials in being a career government
employee who worked her way up through the ranks. She has a
range of contacts and in-depth knowledge of Taiwan's
government that most Chen Administration appointees lack.
Her husband works for a Japanese company in China, a factor
viewed with suspicion by some political factions. Her
comments in this meeting track very closely with those of
Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen during the Acting Director's call
on her in late February. We can expect that other Taiwan
officials will draw on these same themes and points in
pressing their case for a bilateral FTA with U.S. officials.
KEEGAN
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2031
TAGS: ECON IO PREL TW
SUBJECT: AN ECONOMIC VIEW OF TAIWAN'S FUTURE, U.S. INTERESTS
Classified By: AIT Acting Director David Keegan,
Reasons: 1.4 (b/d)
1. (SBU) Summary: Taiwan Minister-without-portfolio Ho
Mei-yueh emphasized that Taiwan considers a Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) with the United States to be its top economic
and political priority in a February 23 meeting with the AIT
Acting Director. Ho also briefly discussed Taiwan's new
cabinet and investment in China. A thought-piece on the
strategic outlook behind Ho's remarks will follow septel.
End summary.
2. (SBU) During a February 23 courtesy call, Acting AIT
Director asked former Minister of Economic Affairs and now
Minister-without-portfolio Ho Mei-yueh what she considered to
be her top priority in her new position. Without hesitation,
Ho identified an FTA with the United States as her
government's top priority. She then launched into a detailed
presentation on the benefits of an FTA for both Taiwan and
the United States, strategies for promoting an FTA, and
issues that need to be resolved prior to an FTA.
U.S. Line of Strategic Defense Will Be Broken
--------------
3. (SBU) Minister Ho said she believed that a bilateral FTA
would greatly benefit not only Taiwan but also the United
States in terms of both economic and strategic interests.
She said that without an FTA with the United States, Taiwan
will have no option but to increase its already considerable
economic integration with China, which would inevitably lead
to a situation wherein Taiwan loses its ability to take
independent economic or political action. She argued that if
Taiwan loses its ability to resist China's economic pressure
this would render moot any military defense. Without an FTA
with the United States, she claimed, Taiwan will be forced by
economics to tilt towards China, breaking the U.S. strategic
defense line in the Far East, which goes through Japan, South
Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Minister Ho's arguments
were overwhelmingly geo-strategic rather than economic. Like
many high-ranking officials in the Chen Administration, she
made no bones that she views China as a hostile country that
intends to establish its hegemony in East Asia to the
detriment of Japan (which many in Chen's government greatly
admire) and other traditional U.S. allies in the region.
Why Taiwan Should Come Before Korea
--------------
4. (SBU) Minister Ho said that Taiwan was very concerned
about the damage to Taiwan industries that might result if
the United States signed an FTA with South Korea, but not
Taiwan. Taiwan, she said, would lose much of the U.S. market
for high-tech products where Taiwan and South Korea are keen
rivals. As an example, she noted that the U.S. now charges
7.5% import duty on LCD display screens, and that elimination
of this duty through an FTA would hand this competitive
sector to South Korea.
5. (SBU) The United States would benefit more from an FTA
with Taiwan than an FTA with South Korea, Ho claimed. Taiwan
is one of the largest buyers of U.S. agricultural products,
and could be buying even more, whereas an FTA with South
Korea would lead to keen competition from South Korean
business firms in automobiles, and iron and steel.
6. (SBU) While an FTA with China is not in the interest of
the United States, Ho maintained, an FTA with Taiwan would
help prevent Taiwan's economic marginalization. Despite
extensive industrial relocation to China, Taiwan still
produces a number of high-tech products important to the
United States, and is a leader in some textile and chemical
technologies. Without an FTA beween the United States and
Taiwan, these strategic industries will inevitably migrate to
other countries, probably China, Ho claimed, thereby making
the United States less secure and making Taiwan less
prosperous.
How Taiwan Pushes Its Policies
--------------
7. (SBU) Ho said that Taiwan has made great efforts to lobby
officials in the United States, including state legislators.
Ho said that over half of the U.S. state legislatures have
passed resolutions to support a U.S. FTA with Taiwan.
8. (SBU) The AIT Acting Director noted that U.S. business
firms play a far greater role in FTA decisions than do
states. In response to Ho's expressed fear that such firms
would remain silent to prevent PRC retaliation, he observed
that U.S. firms likely have a variety of ways to communicate
this message through non-public channels.
Issues to be Resolved
--------------
9. (SBU) Ho identified four trade issues that she believes
Taiwan needs to be resolved before an FTA between the United
States and Taiwan can be considered: IPR, rice,
pharmaceuticals, and U.S. beef. She expressed optimism that
differences on these issues could be resolved. She claimed
that Taiwan has made significant improvement in IPR
protection over the past three years, and noted that Taiwan
has re-opened to imports of U.S. beef. According to Ho,
Taiwan's criteria for accepting U.S. beef were not as strict
as Japan's. Japan would only accept meat from cows younger
than 20 months, while Taiwan allows meat from cattle up to 30
months. Ho said the re-opening to U.S. beef imports came in
spite of heavy criticism from legislators. She said that
Chen Lu-hung had recently retired as Director General of the
Department of Health Food Sanitation Bureau as a result of
the criticism of re-opening U.S. beef imports.
10. (C) Note: Chen had told AIT prior to his retirement at
the end of December that the political flap over beef did not
push him to retire and he emphasized that his retirement
would not change the Department of Health's rigorous,
science-based approach to regulating food imports. End Note.
11. (SBU) Ho believes the rice issue is almost resolved.
Taiwan has accepted U.S. requests on rice quota allocations.
Ho anticipated heavy political pressure on rice may again
lead to the resignation of a senior agriculture official.
12. (SBU) On pharmaceuticals, Minister Ho thought that
co-payment by patients for innovative pharmaceuticals might
be a possible solution to differences on pricing and the use
of generic drugs. She suggested that patients could pay the
difference between name-brand drugs and generic ones. Ho
said she will promote an amendment to the law making this
possible.
Taiwan Cabinet
--------------
13. (SBU) During the meeting, Ho also discussed briefly the
functioning of Taiwan's Executive Yuan (EY, composed of the
Premier, Vice Premier, Secretary General, and 15 ministers).
Eight of the 15 EY ministers are in charge of ministries, and
the remaining seven are ministers without portfolio. All of
the cabinet members and heads of councils, commissions, and
administrations attend cabinet meetings. One of the main
duties of ministers without portfolio is to coordinate all
relevant ministerial agencies on issues assigned to them by
the Premier or Vice Premier. She has been assigned issues
coming from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Council of
Agriculture, the Fair Trade Commission, and the Consumer
Protection Commission.
Investment in China
--------------
14. (SBU) Minister Ho mentioned that she had read of U.S.
officials citing extremely high figures of Taiwan investment
in China. She said that Taiwan's investment in China is
US$45 billion according to Taiwan data. She believed that the
actual figure should be about US$70-100 billion; the
difference mainly reflects reinvestment of earnings by Taiwan
companies. She noted Taiwan's law does not require
registration of such reinvestment.
Comment:
--------------
15. (C) Ho's polished hour-long presentation on the merits
of an FTA with the United States clearly reflected a deep
familiarity with the subject. Ho has a well-deserved
reputation for doing her homework. She is unusual among
high-level DPP officials in being a career government
employee who worked her way up through the ranks. She has a
range of contacts and in-depth knowledge of Taiwan's
government that most Chen Administration appointees lack.
Her husband works for a Japanese company in China, a factor
viewed with suspicion by some political factions. Her
comments in this meeting track very closely with those of
Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen during the Acting Director's call
on her in late February. We can expect that other Taiwan
officials will draw on these same themes and points in
pressing their case for a bilateral FTA with U.S. officials.
KEEGAN