Brunei - Taiwan seeks Brunei help to join TPP

TAIWAN has been eyeing the prospect of becoming a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and is seeking assistance from Brunei as part of its plans to promote trade between the Sultanate.

A representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Terry Ting, told The Brunei Times in a recent interview that Taiwan is ready to invest and promote economic ties with Brunei and other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

"This is one of the first steps for our move into the TPP and we need Brunei's advice and assistance in the near future," said Ting.

The representative said that Taiwan plans to become a member within a span of 10 years, and said that Brunei, being a founding member and an important member of ASEAN, has a lot of experience which will benefit Taiwan.

"With the TPP, trade between our two countries will be even bigger. The incentive will be huge for all of us because of free trade. For example, because of the free trade agreement between Taiwan and China, our trade has increased a large volume very quickly," he said.

"... We also want to be involved in the TPP to move and bring our trade with Brunei and APEC members closer."

Through Taiwanese participation in trade exhibitions over the last few years, Ting said that businessmen have "tasted the results" of what Brunei can offer.

During the TechXpo organised last year at the International Convention Center, Ting said that Taiwanese exhibitors had sold out most of their products, with total sales amounting to nearly US$660,000 ($860,000).

"The response is surprising and our exhibitors want to come again but this year, we will be focused on agriculture, Halal branding and food processing," he said, adding that agriculture is a key initiative because it is a directive from His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

Taiwan is looking to diversify its investment portfolio as Ting said that the country does not want to "put all eggs in one basket".

Trade between Brunei and Taiwan amounted to US$80 million ($105 million), a 117 per cent growth from 2010 to 2011.

Ting referred to the figures as "historical" as the two sides never had such volumes of trade in the past. Taiwan-Brunei trade in 2009 amounted to US$500,000.

Japan, which is currently seeking to enter the TPP, has gained full support from Brunei in its pending application to be part of the free-trade bloc in January this year.

Following a meeting between the two sides in Brunei, an unnamed Bruneian official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) was cited from The Japan Times saying: "They asked if Brunei would support Japan. I think we can support them and we have committed to support them."

He added: "We don't have any problem if Japan wants to join the TPP."

The official also said that Brunei, which signed a bilateral economic partnership agreement with Japan in 2007, doesn't have any major trade issues with Japan.

The TPP agreement is expected to significantly boost foreign direct investment to Brunei by increasing investor confidence in the Sultanate compliance with high trade standards, the US Deputy Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis said earlier this week.

Marantis said the agreement would "lock in" market access to the US and help Brunei diversify its economy beyond oil and gas.

"When foreign investors look around the world to decide where they want to invest, they want to make sure that the country that they are investing in has high standard investment protection," he added.

GOH DE NO

The Brunei Times

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