TPP NOW JAPAN-LED, WELCOMES TAIWAN|TPP改由日主導 我爭取加入日表歡迎

Japan sends positive signal over Taiwan's TPP bid. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says Japan welcomes Taiwan to join the Transpacific Partnership, and will provide the necessary information to any country or region interested in joining. After US president Donald Trump pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Japan has taken over the mantle of leadership for the multi-lateral trade pact. Premier Lin Chuan said in an interview with Nikkei that he is happy to see Japan as a TPP promoter after the US withdrawal, and that he looks forward to working with Japan to join the pact. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a press conference on June 26 that all countries and regions interested in joining the TPP, including Taiwan, are welcome. ==CHEN CHENG-CHI Dep. Dir.-Gen., BOFT, MOEA== Our preparations for joining the TPP have been ongoing. The most important part is to ensure that we are ready, so we have already compiled an overview of how our laws fit with the terms of the TPP. For the differences, we have initiated changes to laws and regulations as needed. The Bureau of Foreign Trade said that ensuring Taiwan's readiness to join the TPP is the most important priority, and that work has been ongoing. Academics said that Japan's positive response is surprising. ==LEE CHUN Dep. CEO, WTO,RTA Center, CIER== This is a bit surprising, but I think Taiwan must seize the opportunity. Although Japan did not specifically state any preconditions for Taiwan, I think we all clearly know that Japan is expecting Taiwan to make some changes in opening food imports. So even if Japan does not say so, if we want to take advantage of this positive sentiment from Japan, we may have to make a positive response as well. Academics said that Japan can open the door for Taiwan into the TPP, and it will likely be the main supporter of Taiwan's membership. However, as TPP membership requires unanimous support from all current members, Taiwan must also consider whether there are potential "no" votes on Taiwan's membership. Translated by JOHN CHEN 行政院長林全日前接受日本經濟新聞專訪，表達了台灣爭取參與跨太平洋夥伴協定TPP的意願，也呼籲日本能把台灣納入邀請對象，對此，日本政府、內閣官房長官菅義偉在6月26號的記者會上表示，歡迎台灣加入，而日方也將提供相關訊息。 美國總統川普上任後，中止TPP多邊貿易政策，TPP轉而由日本主導推動，行政院長林全日前接受日本經濟新聞專訪時表示，樂見日本在美國退出TPP後主導推動，期待與日本合作，日本政府也給了善意回應，內閣官房長官菅義偉在6月26日的記者會上表示，對包括台灣在內的國家和地區，表現出加入TPP的興趣，表示歡迎。 ==經濟部國貿局副局長 陳正祺== 我們為了要參加TPP的準備工作 一直在進行 最重要就先把我方自己準備好 所以我們當年就擬了 把我們的法制 跟TPP的法制做過盤點 裡面有落差的部分 我們也有都該修法的修法 該規定的修規定 國貿局表示，對於加入TPP的準備工作，一直在持續進行，最重要的就是把自己準備好，學者也認為日本釋出正面回應，感到出乎意料之外。 ==中經院WTO及RTA中心副執行長 李淳== 這個是有點出乎意料 但是我覺得台灣 也必須要掌握機會 也就是說日本雖然沒有說 台灣要改變一些條件 但是事實上我們都清楚 日本非常強烈的期待 台灣應該要在 食品開放上做出一些改變 所以這個即便日本沒有說 我們如果想要掌握 這次日本的善意的話 我們可能必須自己要來做一些 採取一些我們善意的回應 學者強調，日本無疑是台灣加入TPP的帶步人，很可能成為支持台灣申請加入TPP的主要國家，但是TPP是採共識決，意即所有現有成員都要贊成，因此，固然帶路人日本很重要，但是現有成員中，是否有潛在的反對者，也是台灣必須要考量的風險。 記者 郭采彥 應磊奇 台北報導