President Lai Ching-te once again pitched a trade deal with the European Union in front of EU officials and Taiwanese business leaders at an economic forum in Taipei. But it's unclear how much traction the idea is gaining in Brussels.
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00:00President Lai Ching-da says a new economic agreement with the European Union could protect
00:05global supply chains, as he opens an economic forum here in Taipei.
00:11The EU is Taiwan's number one source of foreign direct investment, and is Taiwan's fourth
00:15largest trading partner, reaching about 74 billion U.S. dollars in trade last year.
00:20In front of business leaders and trade officials from both Taiwan and Europe, Lai again called
00:25for the two sides to establish a so-called Economic Partnership Agreement, or EPA.
00:30Such an agreement would deepen our mutually beneficial partnership.
00:36This would not only make both our economies more resilient and secure, but also ensure
00:44the stable operation of global supply chains.
00:49For several years now, Taiwan has been seeking a different type of agreement, specifically
00:53for easing investment rules, known as a bilateral investment agreement.
00:57However, EU officials have previously said such a deal is unnecessary for businesses
01:02in its member countries.
01:04In recent months, Lai has been pivoting to promoting an EPA, which is a type of free
01:08trade agreement that the EU already has with certain countries in Africa, the Caribbean,
01:13and some Pacific islands.
01:14Notably, however, the European officials at this same forum didn't speak much about Lai's
01:19proposed EPA.
01:20Of course, China is one of the EU's largest trading partners, and Beijing strongly objects
01:25to major bilateral agreements between Taiwan and other countries.
01:29While Lai says the deal would be a win-win for both sides, it's not clear how much traction
01:34the proposal is getting in Brussels.
01:36Even as Taiwan touts its improving ties with the European Union.
01:40Devin Tsai and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.