Charles Garrett

Taiwan and WTO's Government Procurement Agreement

US$960 billion is a big market.  That's the figure put on total annual government procurement opportunities in the 40 countries already signed up to the WTO's Government Procurement Agreement.  Taiwan officially becomes the 41st member of that group on 15 July, 30 days on from submitting its instrument of accession. 

President Ma spoke at the ceremony of Taiwan's signing up WTO's Government Procurement Agreement

It's great news for Taiwanese businesses who now have access to that market.  It's great news for British businesses interested in competing for contracts under the i-Taiwan programme of infrastructure development which is worth a staggering £80 billion over the next eight years.  And it's also good news for the Taiwanese consumer as opening these tenders to overseas businesses will increase competitiveness, pushing costs down and quality up.

Making the case for accession had for several years been a familiar theme for the BTCO and other Trade Offices in contact with the Taiwanese government, as well as for business groups like the European Chamber of Commerce and AmCham.  After such a long road, it felt good to arrive at an outcome that will benefit so many, both in Taiwan and elsewhere.  President Ma signed the accession instrument on the opening day of this year's Taiwan-Britain Business Council (see below) - a coincidence that certainly lent a positive tone to the meeting.

Posted at 16:25 16 July 2009 by Charles Garrett  |  Comments[0]