Taiwan – EU trade and investment dialogue deepens partnership

TAIWAN / EU – Minister of economic affairs Wang Meihua and director-general of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade Sabine Weyand co-chaired the “Taiwan-EU Economic and Trade Dialogue”, secretary office (external communication team) reports.

In the past, the bilateral meeting between Taiwan and the EU was at the level of the deputy minister/deputy director-general’s dialogue. In order to expand the level of cooperation between Taiwan and the EU, the dialogue level was raised to the minister/director-general level. This shows that in the EU’s blueprint for international economic and trade cooperation, the importance of Taiwan has increased, and it is also a role for Taiwan. A major breakthrough in EU relations.

“The relationship between Taiwan and the EU has become increasingly close. When the EU announced the “EU Indo-Pacific Cooperation Strategy” last September, it pointed out that it will seek in-depth trade and investment relations with Taiwan, and will cooperate with partners such as Taiwan in semiconductors. Both Taiwan and the EU adhere to the values ​​of freedom, democracy, and human rights. In addition, Taiwan is an important economic and trade partner of the EU. June 2, the two sides held a ministerial/director-general economic and trade dialogue meeting, which is an important milestone in Taiwan-EU relations,” said the secretary’s office.

Deepen partnerships

At this meeting, the European side is mainly concerned about the resilience and cooperation of the semiconductor supply chain, the related scheme of the offshore wind power industry, and the quarantine (SPS) of animal and plant products. During the discussion, we also explained to the European side our plans to move towards net zero emissions by 2050, so that the European side can fully understand Taiwan’s determination to reduce carbon emissions. During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the progress of the issues discussed in past working-class meetings, and also fully exchanged views on how to further cooperate on strategic issues such as trade, investment, research and innovation.

Semiconductor cooperation

In terms of semiconductor cooperation between Taiwan and the EU, the epidemic caused a shortage of chips last year. We have tried our best to help the EU and other allies to ease supply chain problems. In addition, the ministry of economic affairs has sent a semiconductor expert team to the three Central and Eastern European countries (Lithuania, Slovakia, Czech Republic) in March this year; conducting on-the-spot inspections to gain an in-depth understanding of the development of local industries, we hope to further establish a closer relationship with the EU in terms of talent exchange and talent cultivation.

The other two parties agree to share semiconductor supply chain information. Minister Wang emphasized that Taiwan will continue to be a trusted partner of the global semiconductor industry and help stabilize supply chain resilience.

Offshore wind power

The development of offshore wind power is an important energy transition policy for me. Minister Wang has previously held many intensive meetings on the difficulties encountered by European developers in offshore wind power cooperation in Taiwan to help them solve problems.

SPS issue

Regarding the SPS issue, Minister Wang said that during his tenure as the deputy minister from 2016 to 2020, he facilitated the import of many agricultural products from EU member states.

“We urge the European side to complete the application for processing and heating meat, dairy and egg products submitted by my country as soon as possible, so that Chinese cakes and processed meat products can be exported to the EU market smoothly. Both parties agree that experts will continue to discuss the progress and solutions of each other’s applications.”

Consensus reached

The meeting finalized a wide range of topics discussed and several consensuses were reached.

“In terms of investment, the EU is my country’s largest source of foreign capital” noted Taiwan’s minister of economic affairs Meihua. “Since 2016, the amount of my country’s investment in the EU has also grown significantly, amounting to approximately US$5.42 billion, accounting for 66.8 percent of the total investment over the years.”