Ma Ying-jeou's Reappointment Brings More Benefits to the Textile Industry on Both Sides

Taiwan’s 2012 election, Ma Ying-jeou’s re-election, will create a stable environment for Taiwan’s economy on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. This will benefit ECFA’s effectiveness and deepen its development. In the next four years, Ma Ying-jeou will focus on promoting cross-strait cooperation and respond to the Taiwanese people’s vote this time agreeing to the policy of peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait.

Ma Ying-jeou’s re-election also brought more benefits to the textile industry on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The implementation of the “Early Cross-strait Economic Agreement” ECFA early receipt list has been implemented for more than one year, with remarkable results.

Last year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan, in response to the possible industrial shocks after the cross-strait ECFA signed a deal, has allocated NT$95 billion in "Support for Trade Liberalization Industry Adjustment Support Programs" to provide relief for affected and damaged industries.

According to the assessment of the Taiwan Industry Bureau, industries that may be affected by trade liberalization include the printing industry, machine tools, paper containers, molds, food, sporting goods, vehicle components, metal products, and bathroom hardware.

In the list of ECFA early receipts on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, Taiwan’s textile industry is one of the major beneficiaries of the industry, and it also brings opportunities for the mainland textile industry.

The tariff reduction directly brings about a significant increase in the import and export of textiles on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. This is the most direct effect of ECFA.

Some raw materials that Taiwan did not use in the past can be imported in large quantities from the mainland, such as hemp, silk, and silkworm protein, and will have more choices for Taiwan's textile and apparel industries. The mainland textile industry will also benefit.

According to trade in the textile industry across the Taiwan Strait in previous years, textiles exported to the mainland by Taiwan accounted for a large proportion of fabrics (accounting for 65% of textiles), while textiles exported to the mainland by ASEAN were mainly chemical fiber filaments. The overlap between Taiwan and ASEAN’s exports to the mainland is not high and substitution is not strong.

The re-election of Ma Ying-jeou may make the ECFA move more smoothly and the cross-strait textile industry is more interactive.