Taiwan 'disappointed' by hold-up of CPTPP bid

Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations said Friday it was disappointed by what appears to be a delay in the consideration of Taiwan's application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

In a press statement, the office expressed "deep regret and disappointment" that CPTPP members did not reach an agreement to initiate Taiwan's accession process during their commission meeting in Vancouver, Canada from Nov. 27-28.

The trade office urged the CPTPP members to "not have political considerations" and to agree to establish a working group to handle Taiwan's membership.

The office was likely referring to the reluctance of some CPTPP member states to address the Taiwan issue as it might alienate their main trading partner China, which has submitted its own application to the bloc and opposed Taiwan's accession.

In its statement, the office acknowledged that achieving a consensus among all the CPTPP members remained a major hurdle for Taiwan's bid but reiterated its commitment to strengthening economic ties with those countries to gain their support for Taiwan's inclusion.

According to the office, Taiwan has launched a diplomatic push for stronger official engagements with individual CPTPP members since submitting its membership application in September 2021 and has completed legal reforms to bring Taiwan's trade-related regulations in line with the bloc's standards.

During its commission meeting which concluded on Thursday (Vancouver time), the CPTPP members reached a decision to commence an accession process for Costa Rica, which applied to join the bloc in August 2022.

"The CPTPP family is expanding," Canadian International Trade Minister Mary Ng said at a joint news conference following the meeting, noting that the bloc was establishing a working group to work toward Costa Rica's accession.

Ng did not respond directly to a media question about Taiwan's application status, saying instead "We remain completely open to having new members join the CPTPP" as long as they adhere to "the Auckland principles."

She was referring to the requirements set by the CPTPP for new memberships, namely meeting the trade pact's high standards, demonstrating a strong track record of meeting trade obligations, and garnering a consensus among all the members.

Asked if Taiwan's application has been put on hold because of China, Ng said Canada's one-China policy had not changed.

"But the work that we do together as CPTPP partners is one where we do work on consensus, and consensus means all of the partners would need to achieve that consensus in order for us to move to that next step," she added.

The CPTPP is one of the biggest trade blocs in the world, representing around 15 percent of the global economy.

It currently has 11 members, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, with the U.K. set to become the 12th member in December.

Canada is the chair of the CPTPP Commission in 2024, and Australia will take the baton next year.