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Benefits of the US-Taiwan FTA » State by State
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Alaska  
Taiwan shares a close economic relationship with Alaska. In 20064, Alaska exported $139.6 million worth of products to Taiwan, making Taiwan Alaskaˇ¦s 1823rd largest export market. Leading exports to Taiwan include fishery, forestry and mineral products. In order to enhance bilateral economic relations, the Taiwan-Alaska Trade & Investment Coordination Council (TATICC) was set up in December 2004. The two meetings held to date have led to concrete results. Last year several private industry associations organized trade missions to Alaska and seek touring and trade opportunities. Over the past few years, in the hope of strengthening economic ties between the U.S. and Taiwan, including business opportunities for Alaska, Taiwan has also been promoting the signing of a Taiwan-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA).
Alaska is rich in natural resources such as gold, copper, coal, oil, timber and natural gas. Alaska is also a great destination for tourism, one of the stateˇ¦s major sources of revenue. Alaska has begun to take advantage of its unique geographical location by strengthening its competitiveness as a logistics center. With its low operating costs, Alaska would be an ideal springboard for Taiwanese companies into the North America markets. The signing of U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA would provide the ideal mechanism for cooperation between Alaskan and Taiwanese businesses.
The U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA will also improve the access of Alaskan products to the Taiwan market due to tariff reductions and other trade facilitation measures. Taiwan purchases $2.6 billion worth of agricultural products from the U.S. annually. With TUFTA in place, Taiwan would import more fishery, forestry and mineral products from Alaska. The agreement would not only help stimulate the development of Alaskan industries, but also help Alaskan products and services enter Asia Pacific markets via Taiwan.
The U.S.ˇ¦ conclusion of the bilateral FTA negotiations with South Korea on April of 2007 has had a very strong impact on Taiwan and other countries in the region. It is the biggest agreement since NAFTA for the U.S. Both Taiwan and Korea are large and advanced economies. In 2006, Korea and Taiwan were the United States' 7th and 9th largest trading partners. From a commercial perspective, if Korea can offer a huge potential opportunity for the U.S., Taiwan will be able to do so, too. Most Taiwanese products are in head-to-head competition with those of Korea in the U.S. market. We worry that Taiwan will lose out in the U.S. market as soon as the Korea-U.S. FTA comes into effect. Taiwan has a unique geographical location in the Asia Pacific region and a long-term partnership with the U.S. For our mutual benefits and Americaˇ¦s strategic interests in this region, we hope to launch the negotiation with the U.S. as soon as possible.
We welcome that Alaska's staunch support of Taiwan, especially the support of Alaska's senators, congressmen and business associations for U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA. As of April 2007, the U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA proposal has been endorsed by a total of 64 legislatures of 38 states, the Council of State Governments and the National Association of Secretaries of State. We hope that the administration, Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Alaska will continue to express their support for U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA to the Bush Administration.
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