Taiwan Machine Tool and Components Industry Association held a membership meeting on Taichung on the 16th. Xu Wenxian, chairman of the association and chairman of Harbour Precision, said in an interview that the DPP authorities are currently actively striving to join CPTPP ( Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement ), which is of course important to the competitiveness of foreign trade of tool machines, but he suggested that RCEP ( Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement ) cannot be ignored. RCEP will take effect next year and its influence will gradually become significant. If the export of tool machines in Taiwan will increase tariffs by 5% to 10% compared with other places in the future, second and third-tier operators may not be able to hold on and have no choice but to leave the market.
"Taiwan Machine Tools and Components Association Members' Meeting" was held in the banquet hall of Chaogang City, Taichung City on the afternoon of the 16th. Tsai Ing-wen, leader of the DPP authorities, Shen Rongjin, deputy head of the administrative agency, Wang Meihua, head of the economic authority, and Cai Qichang, deputy head of the legislative body, were all present.
The guild chairman Xu Wenxian, in advance, said that the development of Taiwan's tool machine industry and the DPP authorities' views on the promotion of Taiwan's CPTPP to promote Taiwan to join the CPTPP, said that the domestic demand market for tool machines in Taiwan is not large, and the most important thing is to be export-oriented. In terms of the tool machine industry, of course, it is a supporter for the DPP authorities to join the CPTPP, allowing Taiwan to enter the free trade zone and enjoy mutual benefits for economic and trade tariffs.
Xu Wenxian said that only by joining the free trade zone can Taiwan's industrial exports be competitive. At present, the tariffs faced by Taiwan's export of machine tools to the United States must start at least 5%. What's more, Taiwan is the main competitors in East Asia, Japan and South Korea. Japan is currently a member of the CPTPP, and South Korea has also applied to join a few days ago. If both Japan and South Korea successfully enter the CPTPP, Taiwan will be excluded. The export market of tool machines will inevitably face great tariff challenges and trade will be treated unfairly. From the perspective of the industry, it is very unwilling to see it.
If Taiwan is excluded from CPTPP, Xu Wenxian pessimistically said that the impact may be severe. After all, the tool machine industry is not large in scale. Unlike semiconductors, which are large-scale cross-border enterprises, they can set up factories overseas and avoid tariffs. This will be a big problem for local small and medium-sized enterprises in Taiwan. Some second-tier and third-tier manufacturers may even withdraw.
So, Xu Wenxian suggested that no matter WTO, CPTPP, RCEP, FTA, every free trade organization and Taiwan region should try to participate. In particular, RCEP will take effect from next year. Although the impact is not great in the short term, the effect will gradually develop in the long term. If Taiwan cannot enter the CPTPP and is not included in the RCEP, it will inevitably have a negative impact on the industry.
Speaking of the development prospects of Taiwan's tool machines next year, Xu Wenxian pointed out that although facing price inflation, ship shortage, container shortage and labor shortage, Taiwan's tool machines still hit an export output value of US$2.7 billion this year, a growth of 30% over last year. If the epidemic continues to ease next year, plus Shanghai transportation and prices continue to stabilize, and do not rise, it is expected that the export output value of the tool machine industry will continue to grow next year and will not drop in the short term.
However, Xu Wenxian also pointed out that it depends on the operation of RCEP starting next year, and the development of the "Omickron" mutant virus strain around the world. If the outbreak of the epidemic, affecting supply chain and price fluctuations, or the free trade zone tariff exclusion effect will appear, it will become a variable for the export of tool machines in Taiwan, which is worth observing. (Source: Zhongping.com)
