The government is making good progress on tackling issues identified in the 2018 Taiwan White Paper produced by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, according to the Cabinet-level National Development Council May 29.

Around 40 percent of the 71 issues raised in the paper are resolved or on the way to resolution, with the remainder prioritized for attention, the NDC said.

According to the council, eight issues spanning such sectors as cosmetics, labor laws and public sector procurements have been satisfactorily finalized through interministerial coordination and regulatory amendments.
 
Greater effort will be dedicated to addressing other areas of concern in the digital economy, energy, and travel and tourism sectors so as to keep Taiwan’s business environment on the development track, the NDC said.

The council’s statement follows the release the same day of the 2019 edition of the paper in which AmCham lauded the government for getting to grips with bureaucratic procedures hampering commerce and trade.

The chamber praised revisions to labor laws creating more flexible working hours, describing them as critical to spurring the knowledge-based economy and in line with developments in leading economies around the world. Other accomplishments came in agro-chemicals, capital markets, cosmetics, human resources, media and telecommunications.

AmCham also urged the administration of President Donald J. Trump and Congress to expand Taiwan-U.S. relations and arrange more reciprocal high-level government visits under the Taiwan Travel Act.
 
In particular, the chamber called on Washington to enter into negotiations with Taipei on a bilateral trade agreement, and restart talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. TIFA is the primary platform for Taiwan and the U.S. to identify opportunities for deepening the bilateral economic relationship.

Established in 1951 with more than 1,000 members from 500-plus companies, AmCham is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting the interests of American and international businesses in Taiwan. It has published the paper annually since 1996 to provide suggestions on how to strengthen the local business climate. (SFC-E)

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