|
|
|
Benefits of the US-Taiwan FTA » State by State
|
|
Hawaii  
Taiwan shares a close economic relationship with Hawaii. In 20046, Hawaii exported $2.431 million worth of products to Taiwan, making Taiwan Hawaiiˇ¦s 11th largest export market. Leading exports to Taiwan include food, waste and scrap metal, computers and electronics, as well as fishery and agricultural products. Still, with Hawaiiˇ¦s exports accounting for a relatively small share of the total $233 billion in U.S.ˇ¦ export to Taiwan, there remain substantial opportunities for growth in Hawaii-Taiwan trade. Accordingly, in the hope of strengthening economic ties between the U.S. and Taiwan, including business opportunities for Hawaii, Taiwan has been promoting the signing of a Taiwan-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA).
Hawaii has diversified its economy into such high-tech areas as the deep-sea, digital content, nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and agriculture industries. Taiwan is also focusing development efforts in the digital content, biotech, and nanotech industries, all of which are also key development areas for Hawaii. TUFTA would provide great opportunities for further cooperation between Taiwan and Hawaii in these strategic areas, particularly in mass manufacturing, product commercialization and R&D.
Hawaii is a major tourism destination, and tourism provides a significant source of revenue for the state. Hawaiiˇ¦s agricultural products, such as macadamia nuts, Kona coffee and tropical flowers, are very popular in Taiwan. The signing of U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA would also improve access of products to the Taiwanese market through tariff reductions and other trade facilitation measures under such an agreement. Taiwan already purchases $2.6 billion worth of agricultural products from the U.S. annually. With U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA in place, Taiwan would import more fishery and agricultural products from Hawaii. The agreement would not only help stimulate the development of Hawaiian industries, but also help Hawaiian products and services enter Asia Pacific markets via Taiwan. Studies have shown that the economic advantages from an FTA with Taiwan will far exceed those from most FTAs that the U.S. has already signed. This is especially true for Hawaii.
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.
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. Givent the benefits to the State of Hawaii made possible by U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA, we hope that the administration, Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Hawaii will similarly convey their strong support for U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA to the Bush Administration.
|
|
|
