Cross-strait trade deal makes progress

China and Taiwan made progress this week towards the June signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), the Washington Post reported. Taiwan negotiators took LCD panels and agricultural products off the list of industries eligible for tariff reductions and agreed to postpone discussion until future negotiations. Both sides are anxious to sign the US$109 billion trade deal. Delaying the agreement until late 2010 could potentially turn the negotiations into an election year issue in Taiwan, complicating matters considerably. Taiwan sees the free trade agreement as a means of ensuring its continued economic viability as well as a gateway to additional FTAs with other nations, whereas Beijing considers the FTA an important step forward towards resolving its political disagreements with Taiwan.