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U.S. businesses encourage Taiwan to reduce mainland policy uncertainty

Xinhua, January 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

American businesses in Taiwan called on the authority to take steps to alleviate uncertainty in its policy toward the Chinese mainland as part of efforts to reduce political turmoil, according to a survey released on Thursday.

The 2015 Business Climate Survey conducted for the fifth year by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Taipei, suggested the authority finalize policy regarding the cross-Strait services trade pact which was signed in 2013 but has been bogged down since a student movement in March.

The impasse of the pact could arouse concern about Taiwan's international credibility with other business partners worrying about unpredictable changes to their agreements with Taiwan, said Thomas Fann, chairman of the AmCham.

According to the survey, 60 percent of respondents said implementing the cross-Strait services pact would be key to benefiting Taiwan.

Asked about the effects of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed between Taiwan and the mainland in 2010, 39 percent of the respondents said it had "some positive" impact on Taiwan.

Another 21 percent of respondents saw it as having a "very positive" effect on Taiwan, up from 13 percent in 2014 and the year before. Another 13 percent said the pact had a "very positive" impact on their own business, compared with just 4 percent last year and 5 percent in 2013.

The survey also listed U.S. business people's least favorite aspects of doing business in Taiwan.

The majority of business leaders listed inconsistent regulatory interpretations, excessive bureaucracy and outdated regulations as the to the same obstacles to doing business on the island for the past five years.

Despite negative factors, a majority of the U.S. businesses in Taiwan show a positive outlook after three consecutive years of declining sentiment. Seventy percent of the surveyed said their companies were profitable in 2014 and believe they can maintain similar profit levels in 2015.

AmCham Taipei, founded in 1951, reached out to more than 420 representatives to seek their views in the survey. Most of them are general managers, CEOs and senior managers. Some 245 of the select representatives responded to the survey. Endi