Last year’s negotiations did not include automobiles at all. "Time was limited [during the previous talks]. Both sides expressed interest in waiting until the second round of discussions on reducing taxes to manage the issue," an unmentioned Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) source said.
Increased imports could represent a real threat for local car dealers, which could result in many of them having to close their business. "[If] Taiwanese cars enter the mainland, it will help Taiwanese auto enterprises as well as be of aid to the economy, but if mainland cars come to Taiwan, it will be a threat to the domestic economy,Taiwan will use a quota system (to open the market) and hopes that the mainland will adhere [to the system]," the source added.
After some 60 years the island had cut ties with the Chinese mainland, representatives from China and Taiwan meet annually to negotiate trades between the two sides. The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement ends import tariffs on a number of key items, including textiles, petrochemicals and machinery, and open up some of their service sectors to each other. The framework pact also opens the way for both sides to reach further market liberalization in goods and services and establish processes for investment protection.
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