‘Taiwan should join trade bloc’: Parliamentary committee recommends
A new report has urged the government to back Taiwan’s bid to join one of the world’s biggest trade agreements.
A bipartisan committee has called for the government to back Taiwan’s bid to join one of the world’s biggest trade agreements, and block consideration of China’s membership until it ends its coercive trade measures and re-establishes ministerial dialogue with Australia.
In a report tabled on Thursday, the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade recommended the government “encourage and facilitate the accession of Taiwan” to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for trans-Pacific Partnership, and consider a bilateral trade agreement with Taipei.
The unanimous report says Australia should also support CPTPP membership applications by the UK and South Korea, encourage the United States to reconsider joining the agreement, and back informal talks with Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines on joining the pact.
But it warns talks should not even be considered with China until it demonstrates its commitment to global trading rules.
“The Committee recommends that the Australian Government work with other CPTPP members to encourage China to re-establish full trading relations including ending its coercive trade measures and re-engaging in ministerial dialogue, and to demonstrate an ability and willingness to commit to the CPTPP’s high standards, prior to supporting the commencement of an accession process,” it says.
The committee’s chairman Ted O’Brien said Australia should support the expansion of the CPTPP’s membership, “but not unconditionally”.
“The ball is in (China’s) court,” Mr O’Brien said. “It’s up to China if it wishes to re-engage with Australia and I hope it does because that would enable the discussions that are necessary to determine whether an accession process should commence.
“Only aspiring economies that support an open, transparent and stable trading environment
and those that demonstrate an ability and willingness to meet the agreement’s high
standards should be considered.
“The CPTPP is one of the world’s most comprehensive trade agreements and its quality
must be maintained.”
He said consideration of a bilateral FTA with Taiwan – which would infuriate China – could assist efforts to secure its efforts into the CPTPP.
“A lesson from our experience with the UK is that benefits accrue from negotiating a bilateral FTA and the CPTPP at the same time, and we see merit in replicating this approach with Taiwan,” Mr O’Brien said.
Taiwan, the UK, South Korea and China have all announced bids to join the regional trade bloc, which currently has 11 members representing about 13.4 per cent of global GDP.
Scott Morrison warned late last year that China had little hope of gaining entry into the CPTPP following its campaign of economic coercion against Australia.
Amid fallout for exporters from $20bn in targeted Chinese trade bans against Australia, the Prime Minister said it would struggle to meet the high bar for entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for trans-Pacific Partnership.
“The CPTPP sets a very high benchmark that you have to be able to achieve and it is important that those who are seeking to become part of an arrangement like that wouldn’t want to have a track record of coercing other trade partners,” Mr Morrison said in November.
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