Profound pact
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The widely awaited trade agreement that representatives from the mainland and Taiwan inked Tuesday is a historic accord, which promises to deeply impact cross-Straits ties in the foreseeable future.
The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) has also laid a solid foundation for cross-Straits relations to develop peacefully. It is another way to cement the relationship based on mutual benefit.
The deal, as a mechanism that embraces all-round economic exchanges, is the latest indication that the mainland-Taiwan economic linkage has been normalized. It has effectively brought the two economies closer, and will ensure mutually beneficial results for both sides.
The ECFA will also help Taiwan revive its economy, which has been facing a tough time over the past decade. Removal of obstacles in economic cooperation from across the Straits not only helps regain confidence but opens opportunities.
The free-trade deal will provide Taiwan firms tariff advantages in some 530 categories of goods bound for the mainland. Mainland companies, in turn, will benefit from lower tariffs on some 260 categories of goods heading to Taiwan.
To protect agriculture and small businesses in Taiwan, farm produce from the mainland has been excluded from the list of tariff-exempted goods. Laborers from the mainland, who often work for much less than counterparts elsewhere, too have been kept out of the Taiwan market.
With the pact, an integrated free trade market for all the major economies in Southeast Asia has also become a reality.
The ECFA offers a fair opportunity for Taiwan to compete with member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the vast mainland market.
Ever since the free trade pact between the mainland and ASEAN took effect in January, Taiwan has been concerned about being marginalized in trade matters. ECFA will make it easier for Taiwan to transform into a regional trade hub.
However, the pact is not a "one-size fits all" deal that can settle all problems between the two sides; that can be addressed only by follow-up consultations from time to time.
