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Benefits of the US-Taiwan FTA » State by State
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Idaho  
Taiwan shares a close economic relationship with Idaho. In 20042006, Idaho exported $19171.9 million worth of products to Taiwan, making Taiwan Idahoˇ¦s 43rd largest export market. Leading exports to Taiwan include computer and electronic products, paper and food products. Still, with Idahoˇ¦s exports accounting for a relatively small share of the total $23 billion in U.S.ˇ¦ exports to Taiwan, there remain substantial opportunities for growth in Idaho-Taiwan trade. Accordingly, in the hope of strengthening economic ties between the U.S. and Taiwan, including business opportunities for Idaho, Taiwan has been pushing for the signing of a Taiwan-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA).
Idahoˇ¦s economy is based on agriculture and tourism and has been one of Taiwan's major sources of wheat. In 2003, Taiwan imported $50 million worth of agricultural products from Idaho, making Taiwan Idahoˇ¦s 4th largest agricultural export market. In 2005, Taiwan organized a Procurement Mission to the U.S. and signed a letter of intent to purchase a record high of $3.1 billion worth of agricultural products for 2006 and 2007, $400 million more than the last such purchase agreement signed in 2003. Judging from this trend, it is clear that Idaho farmers would enjoy immediate benefits from the signing of TUFTA, which would eliminate tariffs on most agricultural and industrial products and increase Taiwanese demand for U.S. products and services.
Taiwan already purchases $2.6 billion worth of agricultural products from the U.S. annually. With TUFTA in place, Taiwan would import more agricultural and industrial products from Idaho. Accordingly, the agreement will not only help stimulate the development of Idahoˇ¦s industries, but also help Idahoˇ¦s 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.
The U.S.ˇ¦ conclusion of the bilateral FTA negotiations with 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. 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. Given the great benefits to the State of Idaho made possible by U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA, we hope that the administration, Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Idaho will convey their strong support for U.S. ˇV Taiwan FTA to the Bush Administration.
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