During a meeting on the morning of April 5 with a visiting delegation of members of the European Parliament, President Ma Ying-jeou stated that since Taiwan and mainland China signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in June 2010, the number of items covered by tariff-free treatment has increased from 14% to 94%. This has attracted many countries, including Japan, to invest in Taiwan, he said, adding that the tariff-free benefits of exporting products to mainland China from Taiwan could also be advantageous to European companies that invest here.
In remarks, the president stated that investment in Taiwan by European nations has reached a total stock of about US$30 billion, accounting for about 30% of foreign investment here and constituting Taiwan's largest source of foreign investment. In addition, the European Union (EU) is Taiwan's fourth largest trading partner, while Taiwan is the EU's 15th largest. Bilateral trade last year reached US$52.5 billion, which accounted for nearly 9% of Taiwan's external trade. Trade with the EU last year increased 8% from the previous year, he noted, which indicates that bilateral trade and economic ties continue to strengthen. In particular, Taiwan has come to play a more active role on the international economic stage since the signing of the ECFA with mainland China. For instance, Taiwan and Japan signed their first investment agreement in 60 years last year. In addition, Taiwan is presently in talks with Singapore and New Zealand on economic cooperation agreements. The president pointed out that Taiwan intends to make the best use of this opportunity to expand ties with its major trading partners throughout the world.
【Source: Office of the President】