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Editorial: Conferences Don't Lead |
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From its conception, the two-day Conference on Sustaining Taiwan's Economic Development held at the end of July appeared set to be an exercise in futility. Decision-making by committee consensus usually means settling for the lowest common denominator, and in this case the "committee" was a cumbersome collection of delegates with sharply varying perspectives - business executives, labor leaders, government bureaucrats, political partisans, academics, and environmental and other advocates. The emotionally charged atmosphere of present-day Taiwan politics further ensured that the Conference's mandate to carve out agreement on economic policy would be monumentally difficult to achieve.
But if the conferees inevitably failed to see eye to eye on any items smacking of controversy (particularly those related to cross-Strait contacts), they still performed a worthy service by focusing public attention on the serious economic challenges Taiwan is facing. To AmCham it was significant that many of the 516 points of consensus that the Conference reached were similar to proposals that AmCham has long espoused, revealing how much the interests of the multinational business community converge with those of society at large in this international-trade-oriented economy. In some specific areas - further relaxing restrictions on the entry of foreign and mainland Chinese professionals, reforming the pharmaceutical reimbursement system, improving the transparency and rationality of the government procurement process, promoting service-sector development through deregulation, and adopting English as a semi-official language, for example - the recommendations echoed positions advanced in the Chamber's Taiwan White Paper.
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Commentary: The Outlook for a U.S.-Taiwan FTA |
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BY MERRITT T. ("TERRY") COOKE
Ever since Taiwan's accession to the World Trade Organization in January 2002, speculation has risen steadily about the possibility of concluding a U.S.-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during the Bush administration's term of office. Until recently, that speculation had little grounding in the reality that matters most - the bureaucratic and political process that determines FTA outcomes in Washington.
A sea change took place in May 2006, however, with the visit to Taiwan by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Karan Bhatia and the resumption of U.S.-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework (TIFA) talks on May 25-26. These events cleared a major obstacle from the path and now present Taiwan and the U.S. with their best shot ever at the FTA goal. Prospects for a successful outcome, though, remain in delicate balance: while the merits of a U.S.-Taiwan FTA have never been stronger, the window is closing fast for substantive consideration of an FTA under this administration's Trade Promotion Authority (TPA).
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By Charmaine Pretorius
MACROECONOMICS
MOSTLY SOUR, VERY LITTLE SWEET
CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS
LIFT-OFF FOR CROSS-STRAIT RELATIONS?
DOMESTIC NEWS
SU RESHAPES HIS CABINET
PRESIDENT STILL UNDER FIRE
INTERNATIONAL
A LESSON IN DIPLOMACY
BUSINESS
VALUE ADDED ISLAND
HIGH-TECH GIANTS LEAPING FORWARD
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Issues: Regulatory Progress for Medical Devices |
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The Department of Health has accepted a series of recommendations made by a working group of AmCham member companies.
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COVER STORY: Power Supply Blues |
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The state-owned Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) has made significant improvements over the past few years, upgrading transmission and distribution, and - with help from Independent Power Producers - increasing system capacity. But a number of serious shortcomings still exist, including too-frequent "dips" in power supply in northern Taiwan and the absence of "ringbus" systems to provide backup support. As Taiwan faces the challenge of adding the equivalent of one nuclear reactor's capacity each year to meet demand, it must also consider the appropriate mix of energy sources in order not to be overly dependent on any one fuel.
BY MICHAEL H. COGNATO
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