Prospects for an EU-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement

Prof. Christopher Dent (Leeds)

Date: 18 November 2010  Time: 7:00-8: 30pm PM

Venue: Brunei Gallery Room: 104

Abstract:

Since the 1990s there has been a significant expansion of free trade agreement (FTA) activity globally, this trend being most pronounced in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific. By the mid-1990s only a small handful of FTAs were in operation in the region but by the late 2000s over 80 agreements had been concluded, the vast majority (85 to 90 percent) being bilateral in nature. Owing to Taiwan’s contested diplomatic status, Taipei has hitherto only managed to conclude agreements with a few official diplomatic partners in Central America, these being of very minor significance in trade terms. However, the advent of FTA negotiations between Taipei and Beijing in 2009 / 2010 could potentially break the diplomatic constraints on Taiwan’s FTA policy, and possibly open the path to talks with the European Union, which itself is looking to establish FTA partnerships with key Asian economic partners. In this presentation, FTA expert Professor Dent examines the prospects for an EU – Taiwan free trade agreement over forthcoming years.

About the Speaker:

Christopher M. Dent is Professor of East Asia’s International Political Economy, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Leeds, UK. His research interests centre on the international political economy of East Asia and the Asia-Pacific. He has published ten books, the latest being China and Africa Development Relations (editor, London: Routledge, 2010),  East Asian Regionalism (London: Routledge, 2008) and China, Japan and Regional Leadership in East Asia (editor, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2008). Christopher Dent is also author of over 70 academic articles and other papers. He has acted as a consultant advisor to the British, Australian, Chilean, German and United States Governments, as well as the Asian Development Bank and European Commission. He has been an invited speaker at conferences and other events in Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Oceania. Professor Christopher Dent is also an Expert (Brains Trust) member of the Evian Group.

Organiser: Centre of Taiwan Studies

Contact email: Dr. Monique Chu atmc80@soas.ac.uk or Dr. Dafydd Fell atdf2@soas.ac.uk