On one hand, they would have an additional instrument of negotiations that they can use. The commercial talks about the trade agreement are likely to be very complicated and the Americans could obtain important concessions in areas ranging from agriculture to the film industry.
On the other hand, it would allow the U.S. To access a huge and very profitable market, capable of absorbing important exports of energy from U.S. producers. This would come at the right time, since the U.S. is expected to be self-sufficient in terms of energy production and consumption and producers would need to turn to foreign markets such as the European one.
Taiwan's protesters are fighting for the very democracy of the island
This is a very interesting article that looks at some of the negative results of a free trade agreement signed between China and Taiwan. It does so indirectly, by discussing the arguments against this that demonstrators who have taken the streets have used. The article refers to political and economic arguments, against the background of the complicated relationships between Taiwan and Mainland China.
The worries that the protesters have are both political and economical. On the political side, a free trade agreement allows Chinese media companies to enter the Taiwanese market by purchasing local media outlets. Given the fact that Chinese media is not entirely free, the political worries are that this is something that would be, in time, replicated in Taiwan as well.
On the economic side, the threats that the Taiwanese perceive are...
A free trade agreement will give opportunities for big capital to enter the market, something that could seriously affect smaller producers and businesses, including in the agricultural sector. Unions and leftist intellectuals also pointed out, including in Taiwan that a free trade agreement will lead to a rise in unemployment, particularly with cheaper available labor in Mainland China.
The article approaches the discussion from only one perspective, namely what the free trade agreement could do negatively. However, it should also look at some of the positive effects that more capital entries could have, as well as what the agreement does in terms of access for Taiwanese companies on the Chinese market.
Bibliography
1. Baetz, Jurgen, Casert, Raf, (2014). Obama Highlights Need for U.S.-EU Energy Cooperation. ABC News. On the Internet at http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/obama-important-reach-free-trade-deal-eu-23064302. Last retrieved on April 2, 2014
2. Hsiao-Hung, Pai, (2014). Taiwan's protesters are fighting for the very democracy of the island. The Guardian. On the Internet at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/25/taiwans-protesters-democracy-china-taiwan-strait. Last retrieved on April 2, 2014
3. Donnan, Shawn, (2014). Pacific Alliance captures zeitgeist in era of 'mega' trade agreements. Financial Times. On the Internet at http://www.ft.com/international/cms/s/0/17754b8a-aec3-11e3-a088-00144feab7de.html. Last retrieved on April 2, 2014
