The China-Taiwan ECFA, Geopolitical Dimensions and WTO Law

This article examines legal and geopolitical aspects of the China-Taiwan Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). It begins by analyzing areas in which the two governments’ measures contravene rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In particular, it provides the first detailed examinat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: HSIEH, Pasha L.
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2011
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Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/1050
https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/3002/viewcontent/China_TaiwanECFA_av.pdf
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Institution: Singapore Management University
Language: English
Description
Summary:This article examines legal and geopolitical aspects of the China-Taiwan Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). It begins by analyzing areas in which the two governments’ measures contravene rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In particular, it provides the first detailed examination of the significant implications emerging from the ECFA for cross-straits trade relations and East Asian regionalism. The article also explains how the ECFA was modeled on free trade agreements (FTAs) of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and assesses the impact of the ECFA’s early harvest program. Finally, the article discusses the ECFA’s consistency with WTO requirements for an interim FTA agreement and potential legal issues arising from the dispute settlement mechanism. In this respect, the article presents a valuable case study of an FTA.