TAIWAN'S MOOTED TRADE PACT WITH THE PRC: STILL A

C O N F I D E N T I A L AIT TAIPEI 000766 STATE FOR EAP/TC STATE PASS USTR FOR STRATFORD AND ALTBACH, TREASURY FOR OASIA/WINSHIP AND PISA, NSC FOR LOI, COMMERCE FOR 4431/ITA/MAC/AP/OPB/TAIWAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2019 TAGS: ECON ETRD EINV PREL PGOV TW CH SUBJECT: TAIWAN'S MOOTED TRADE PACT WITH THE PRC: STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS REF: TAIPEI 415 Classified By: AIT Economic Chief Hanscom Smith for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Although details about the scope and timing of a possible cross-Strait economic cooperation agreement remain scarce, the Ma administration continues to move forward on an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with the PRC. Officials, academics and industry executives have offered various views on what such an agreement would mean for Taiwan. In general, there appears to be a consensus in the business community that ECFA is vital to Taiwan's economic competitiveness, particularly in China's domestic market. The view from academia is more varied, but a consistent theme is the lack of conclusive studies to gauge the possible economic impact. From administration officials, we are hearing more details about how the negotiating process may unfold, and statements about the possible substance of an eventual agreement are fairly consistent. It appears likely that the next round of cross-Strait talks will address a cooperation agreement in some manner, although it remains unclear what the PRC is willing to discuss at this stage. End Summary. Generally Solid Support from Business -------------- ¶2. (C) The business community is generally in favor of ECFA, although not all industry sectors completely endorse the idea. In industries that would be directly affected by what Taiwan officials term an "early harvest" opening of certain sectors (reftel),executives are highly enthusiastic about ECFA. For example, Rick Liu, the Director of Human Resources at CAPCO (formerly the China America Petroleum Corporation - a major producer of petrochemicals) recently told us that ECFA is absolutely essential for the survival of Taiwan's petrochemical industry. Liu said the PRC is Taiwan's largest market for petrochemical products. The global economic downturn and last year's high oil prices have hit Taiwan's producers hard, according to Liu, who told us CAPCO has laid off one-fifth of its workers in the last year. Without ECFA, Liu said, his firm will not be able to compete with South Korean and southeast Asian producers for the China market. 
¶3. (C) In a series of conferences on ECFA sponsored by Taiwan's Chinese National Federation of Industry, executives from a wide variety of businesses expressed support for a trade agreement with the PRC. AIT staff have attended several of the conferences, and have not heard any significant objections to the overall objective of a cross-Strait trade agreement. However, many of the participants seem perplexed by the lack of information from the Ma administration about the possible content of an agreement, as well as by the conflicting rumors about when an actual agreement could be implemented. Academics Seeking Clarity -------------- ¶4. (C) Chunghwa Institute of Economic Research (CIER) Senior Research Fellow Sophie Shih told us recently that her think tank has been gathering information from reports published in the PRC on the subject of trade integration between Taiwan and China, although she was unwilling to identify the Mainland organizations with which CIER has been in contact. In Shih's view, ECFA would be significantly different from the PRC's Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CEPA) with Hong Kong. According to Shih, ECFA would be much more general than CEPA, as Taiwan needs to maintain certain trade restrictions in order to protect particular economic sectors, in particular the agricultural. Shih said the provisions of ECFA would have to be consistent with the WTO commitments of both Taiwan and the PRC. Shih stated that an important result of an ECFA would be improving Taiwan's ability to compete with South Korea in gaining market share in China. ¶5. (C) A different possible result of ECFA was highlighted for us by National Chengchi University Professor Tung Cheng-yuan. Tung recently surveyed a number of Taiwan and foreign businesses regarding how cross-Strait economic integration would affect their long-term planning. Tung found that up to 40 percent of the sampled businesses indicated they would increase investment in Taiwan in the wake of ECFA or a similar agreement. A similar percentage indicated they would reduce investment in Taiwan if there is no agreement with the Mainland. Tung said his research also found that most businesses operating in Taiwan believe that closer economic ties with the PRC will facilitate the island becoming a regional hub for marketing, research and development, and even manufacturing. ¶6. (C) Johnny Chiang, Director for International Affairs at the Taiwan Institute for Economic Research (TIER),told us that he and his researchers have been trying to model the economic effects of ECFA, without much success. He cited a lack of reliable data, especially from China, as the primary reason he has found it impossible to build a model that can quantify possible effects. According to Chiang, available information and studies suggest that the net impact of ECFA would be positive for Taiwan. He cautioned, however, that he has seen no estimates which are based on specific, verifiable figures. Like most of our contacts, Chiang expects that ECFA will be discussed at the next round of talks between Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and the PRC's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS). (Note: The date of the next SEF-ARATS talks has not been set, according to Ma administration officials. End Note.) Officials Speaking with More Certainty, Although Inconsistencies Remain -------------- --- ¶7. (C) The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will hold a series of meetings with industry, academia, relevant agencies and committees of the Legislative Yuan (LY) to collect comments on ECFA, according to MOEA Vice Minister Lin Sheng-chung. Lin said the number of meetings could exceed 100, but emphasized that the ministry regards them as key to building support for ECFA. Lin told us recently that the WTO Center of CIER will complete a detailed study of the potential impact of ECFA by the end of June, adding that CIER is also studying relevant research reports prepared by PRC government agencies, universities and think tanks. Lin reiterated previous statements by officials that Taiwan industry had strongly urged the Ma administration to pursue ECFA to preserve competitiveness once the free trade agreement between ASEAN and the PRC goes into effect next year. ¶8. (C) Both SEF Chairman P.K. Chiang and Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan have told us recently that although the Ma administration is committed to the policy of liberalizing cross-Strait trade and investment, it is still assessing what ECFA should entail. At the same time, as the administration is formulating its strategy for engaging the PRC on ECFA, it is also working to build public support for an agreement and fend off criticisms by the opposition DPP that Taiwan is still divided on whether or not ECFA is in the island's long-term interest. The DPP is advocating a referendum on the issue in the future. ¶9. (C) In contrast, former Minister-without-Portfolio Chu Yun-peng described ECFA,s content as a "moving target." According to Chu, in its initial version, ECFA is likely to contain little more than tariff reductions in some petrochemical and industrial sectors. Chu echoed his past criticisms of what he characterized as the administration's bungled public outreach strategy on the initiative. ¶10. (C) Recently, the Director General of the Department of Economic Research at the Council on Economic Planning and Development (CEPD),Hung Jui-bin, told us it is still not clear what ECFA is. Rather surprisingly, his office has not been charged with researching the costs and benefits of various possible ECFA provisions. Instead, the research project has shifted to another office within CEPD. This was done, he said, because one of his staff was seen as sympathetic to the opposition DPP. According to Hung, Economic Affairs Minister Yiin Chi-ming strongly supports moving forward on ECFA, although this results in statements by the administration that are not always consistent. For example, Hung said, it is unclear on what data the Minister based his public claim that Taiwan would reap huge gains from an ECFA. When Hung asked MOEA Vice Minister John Deng about these figures, Deng said he had no idea where they came from, according to Hung. Comment -------------- ¶11. (C) A key question, apparently as yet unanswered, is how much is Beijing willing to discuss at this juncture. Although MOEA Vice Minister Lin told us there is working-level communication about ECFA between officials on both sides of the Strait, none of our contacts can provide a detailed explanation of the issues being discussed. Despite assertions by officials and outside experts that the next round of SEF-ARATS talks will address ECFA, none of our contacts can confirm if Beijing has agreed to include the issue on the agenda. Nonetheless, there's certainly plenty of smoke regarding ECFA put up by both sides, which suggests there may eventually be fire at the end of the process. End Comment. YOUNG