Tuesday, July 10, 2012

ECA Strategy Blueprint: Delayed Points of Light

ECA Strategy Blueprint: Delayed Points of Light
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
July 10, 2012


Summary: Taiwan will be integrated into the regional economy. The roadmap showing how is about to be published. The temporary name for the Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA) promotion and action plan is the "ECA Strategic Blueprint." It is the product of years of studies on how to participate in regional economic integration. It will become our declaration to the outside world. It will become our mission statement to our fellow citizens. It will become the framework that guides our implementation. The government's free trade agreement (FTA) policies can also be implemented this way. Such a step is crucial to Taiwan's economic and trade policies.

Full Text below:

Taiwan will be integrated into the regional economy. The roadmap showing how is about to be published. The temporary name for the Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA) promotion and action plan is the "ECA Strategic Blueprint." It is the product of years of studies on how to participate in regional economic integration. It will become our declaration to the outside world. It will become our mission statement to our fellow citizens. It will become the framework that guides our implementation. The government's free trade agreement (FTA) policies can also be implemented this way. Such a step is crucial to Taiwan's economic and trade policies.

The ECA strategic blueprint being prepared echoes the proposals of this newspaper's Vision Workshop. On the 17th of last month, this newspaper's Vision Workshop issued its special report entitled, "Two Critical Years: Taiwan Fast Forwards." It also convened a "Two Critical Years: Paving the Way for Taiwan's Economic Future" economic summit on the 25th of last month. It called upon the government to respond proactively to the global wave of FTA signings, to establish an overall strategy, and to promote free markets. It called on the government to report on its progress on a regular basis. Less than ten days later, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-hsiang said he would announce the ECA Strategy Blueprint. This prompt response deserves special affirmation. But society has greater expectations.

The fact is this strategic blueprint is tardy. Taiwan's participation in regional economic integration began in 1989, when it joined the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference (APEC). More recently global trade liberalization shifted from multilateral consultations to bilateral consultations. This was due to slow progress in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha round of negotiations, launched at the end of 2001. Since then various forms of regional integration such as bilateral FTAs, ASEAN+N, ECAs, and others have appeared. In mid-August 2003, Korea announced its FTA Roadmap, (FTA blueprint), a full nine years before us. Consider our actual progress. In 2009 we began consultations on the cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA). This was our most important step down the road to FTAs. But there has been no follow-up. No significant progress has been made over the past three years.

Taking it slow is okay. Grinding to a halt is not. The strategic blueprint must acknowledge that we are a relative latecomer. We must make up for lost time and for lost opportunities. To achieve such ambitious goals, our strategic blueprint must declare its intention to the outside world. It must inspire fellow citizens at home. It must be clearly defined. Only then can it break through the limitations of its existing framework. Only then can it swiftly yield visible results. Only then can it make up ten years of lost time in two years.

Consider it a declaration to the outside world. According to the ECA Strategy Blueprint we will first sign agreements with countries with which we have the largest trade volume. We will adopt a strategy of simultaneously promoting FTAs, making multiple contacts, and signing FTAs one by one. Given these goals, our highest priority is follow-up consultations on ECFA. Next are the United States, Singapore, New Zealand, and other core trans-Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) countries. After that are Japan, the EU, India, and Indonesia. Such a negotiation path accords with public perception. It is also our current restructuring. The central government has proclaimed it as a national goal. This enables our international allies to better understand our thinking and our needs.

Such a declaration can only yield limited results. After all, the decision is in other hands, not our own. The nations we have listed as our top priority, do not necessarily consider us their top priority. If the two sides fail to reach an agreement, then no further progress can be made. Therefore this strategic blueprint is not merely a path. It is also a "point of light" that must attract other countries and persuade them to sign with us. This is our best approach to regional economic integration. This approach could not be clearer. As the international gateway to the Mainland China market, follow up consultations on ECFA are essential.

The second "point of light" in the strategic blueprint is internal cohesion. The government is planning to promote an ECA signing work program. It will require various agencies to conduct an inventory of economic and trade liberalization policies. It will attempt to understand, narrow, and remedy the domestic and foreign policy gap. Its name makes no difference. This program is domestically oriented. This is especially true for the executive branch program. It will determine how the Government promotes ECA, and the speed and the force that it exerts. This is up to us. It is how we demonstrate our desire to promote ECA. It is how we increase international recognition. As a result, this "point of light" must be bright. The program must be specific. The sharper its focus the better.

The third "point of light" pertains to executive branch implementation. The executive branch has been trumpeting FTAs for years. But it has little to show. President Ma has declared that he will personally lead the FTA promotion group. But FTAs involve far too many administrative details. President Ma may be sincere, but will probably be unable to deliver on his promise. Therefore he must establish an administrative system equivalent to the cross-ministry mechanisms required to join WTO. The aforementioned work program is essential to realizing our strategic blueprint.

ECA策略藍圖:後發先至的亮點
【聯合報╱社論】
2012.07.10

台灣第一張加入「區域經濟整合」的路徑圖(roadmap)即將公布,這項暫以「ECA策略藍圖」為名的「經濟合作協議」(ECA)推動暨行動計畫,是政府爭取加入區域經濟整合多年以來首度研擬,將成為對外宣示、對內聚力、整合執行的最高指導綱領,政府的「自由貿易協定」(FTA)政策也可望由此全面啟動,誠是台灣經貿政策極具關鍵意義的一步。

正在緊密籌劃的「ECA策略藍圖」,呼應了本報系願景工程的主張。自上月十七日起,本報系願景工作室先推出「關鍵兩年‧台灣快轉」跨國專題報導,再於廿五日舉行「關鍵兩年──為台灣經濟開路」高峰會,呼籲政府積極因應全球FTA風起雲湧之情勢,訂立整體策略,推動市場開放,並期望政府定期提出進度報告。不到十天,經濟部長施顏祥即表示,將會很快對外公布ECA策略藍圖,此一迅速回應殊值肯定,但社會對其有更多的期待。

不可諱言,這份策略藍圖來得遲了一些。追溯台灣參與區域經濟整合活動,早自一九八九年加入亞太經濟合作會議(APEC)就已開始;即使拉近一點,全球經貿自由化從多邊協商走向雙邊化,則是源於世貿組織(WTO)於二○○一年底啟動杜哈(Doha)回合談判遲無進展的結果,自此之後各種形式的區域整合如雙邊FTA、東協+N、ECA等大量出現,韓國更在二○○三年八月發表「FTA Roadmap」(FTA藍圖),足足比台灣早了九年;再依實際進展言,二○○九年啟動協商的兩岸經濟合作架構協議(ECFA)可說是開啟台灣FTA之路的最重要起步,但後續行動仍未見整合,以致三年來未見太大進展。

不怕慢,只怕站。研訂中的策略藍圖必須有「後發先至」的企圖心,以追回此前蹉跎流失的時間與機會。而要達成這樣的積極性目標,策略藍圖必須在對外宣示、對內聚力、整合執行等三方面有清楚的定位,方有可能突破既有的框架與限制,快速取得可見的成果,以關鍵兩年彌補失落十年。

在對外宣示上,依ECA策略藍圖的初步規劃,將選定與我貿易量大的國家,列為優先洽簽ECA目標,以「同時推動、多元接觸、逐一協商」的策略推進。依此目標,兩岸ECFA後續協商最優先,其次是美國、新加坡及紐西蘭等跨太平洋經濟夥伴協議(TPP)核心國家,再次是日本、歐盟及印度、印尼等。這樣的洽談路徑符合一般社會認知,也是目前推動實況的重整,且因提升至國家宣示層次,可以讓國際盟友更精準地了解台灣的需求與想法。

只是,此一宣示能夠獲得多少的成果,畢竟是「受制於人」而非操之在我,因為我們列為優先洽簽的國家,不一定也把台灣列為優先,若兩相不合意,也就走不下去。因此,這項策略藍圖不只是條路徑,更須有吸引他國將台灣列入優先洽簽名單的「亮點」,其一即是台灣在區域經濟整合的最佳定位,而這個定位也再清楚不過,就是做為國際進軍中國大陸市場的門戶,ECFA後續協商的完整化即屬必要。

策略藍圖的「亮點」之二,則是在對內聚力上,目前政府規劃將之訂為「推動洽簽ECA工作綱領」,將要求各部門進行經貿自由化的政策盤點、了解國內外的政策落差、縮小落差的開放對策,以及相應的配套作為。無論名稱為何,這項面向國內、尤其是行政部門的綱領,將決定政府推動ECA的方向、速度與力道,不只是「可操之在己」,更可由此實質展現台灣推動ECA的成果與誠意,向外提升國際認同。也因此,這個「亮點」要夠亮,綱領內容應是愈具體、愈聚焦愈好。

第三個「亮點」繫乎執行力。政策高喊FTA多年,但乏善可陳,馬總統雖曾宣示將親自領軍FTA小組推動,但畢竟FTA涉及太多行政面的執行細節,馬總統縱有心亦無力,因而必須在行政體系組建相當於加入WTO規格的跨部會推動機制,以落實前述工作綱領的要求,這是欲實現策略藍圖不可或缺的一項。

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