Taiwan urges progress on EU investment deal as bloc courts chip firms
Taiwan has repeatedly pushed for the conclusion of a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) with the EU, saying it would help encourage more Taiwanese investment, especially from chip companies.
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Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteIndian School of BusinessISB Digital TransformationVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Product ManagementVisitNorthwestern UniversityKellogg Post Graduate Certificate in Product ManagementVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Professional Certificate in Product ManagementVisit The EU identified Taiwan as a candidate for a BIA in 2015, but no talks have taken place on the issue.
The bloc has been courting Taiwan as a «like-minded» potential partner under the European Chips Act to encourage more semiconductor production in Europe and lessen dependence on Asia, despite the lack of formal ties with the Chinese-claimed island.
China views Taiwan as part of its own territory, meaning Beijing routinely objects to any high-level interactions or agreements by foreign governments with Taipei, making a BIA diplomatically complex.
Speaking at a Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, attended by both Taiwan's president and the de facto EU ambassador to Taipei, the head of Taiwan's economic planning agency said it and the EU shared the values of democracy and freedom.
«This being the case, there are no problems or difficulties that cannot be resolved,» Taiwan National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin said.
«On the basis of this mutual trust… can you tell EU headquarters, on the BIA, can it start, effectively moving it forward?»
President Tsai Ing-wen, addressing the same forum, did not mention the BIA, though she did so at the same event last year.
