Is there any urgency for Taiwan to sign an economic agreement with Mainland China?
A6. Mainland China and the ten member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed the ramework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Between ASEAN and the People Republic of China?in 2002, and next year (2010) Mainland China and six ASEAN members (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Brunei) will put into effect tariff exemptions on most goods traded among themselves. The other four ASEAN members (Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and Cambodia) are scheduled to follow suit in 2015. Now Mainland China and ASEAN are leading trade partners for Taiwan: last year (2008) our total trade surplus was US$14.8 billion, and of that figure, our trade surplus with Mainland China was US$35.5 billion, while our trade surplus with the six ASEAN members was US$12.7 billion. Thus tariff exemptions among Mainland China and ASEAN members will seriously impact our exporting industries, leading to industries moving abroad and huge losses of employment opport
