Taiwan, Japan expected to sign economic agreement this year: Official

Taipei, June 27 (CNA) Taiwan and Japan are expected to sign an economic trade pact this year, while six other economic agreements with various trading partners are currently under negotiation, Economics minister Shih Yen-shiang said Wednesday.

The Taiwan-Japan economic cooperation agreement is expected to be signed this year and will further strengthen bilateral relations, following three other agreements signed between the two sides over the years, Shih said.

Taiwan and Japan signed an investment agreement and an open skies agreement to liberalise bilateral commercial aviation exchanges in 2011, as well as a memorandum of understanding on the Patent Prosecution Highway programme to speed up the process of patent screening in 2012.

Negotiations on an economic cooperation agreement with the European Union are ongoing, as are talks on the establishment of the Agreement of Singapore and Taiwan Economic Partnership and a trade cooperation deal between Taiwan and New Zealand, Shih added.

Meanwhile, follow-up negotiations under the 2010 Taiwan-China Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement are moving forward smoothly and a long-stalled investment protection agreement is expected to be inked in the upcoming eighth round of the high-level negotiations, Shih said.

In addition, a cross-strait agreement on the services sector is expected to see progress by the end of this year, Shih noted.

He added that a customs cooperation pact and an agreement regarding the resolution of potential disputes between China-based Taiwanese and Chinese businesses are expected to be concluded by end of the 2013.

Shih also expressed the hope that Taiwan and the United States can resume talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement soon.

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Category: Taiwan