Taipei,Oct.5,2012(CENS)--Chairman S.C.Hsu of the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry(TAMI)said he has signed a memorandum of understanding(MOU)in late September with Chairman Wang Ruixiang of the China Machinery Industry Federation on jointly pushing for ECFA follow-up talks on commodity trades.
The MOU was signed at a time when South Korean machine-tool makers have emerged as a formidable threat to Taiwan's manufacturers on international markets.Hsu pointed out that South Korean machine tools will enter the American and European markets with zero tariff thanks to free trade agreements(FTAs),which Taiwan is still struggling for.
He said Taiwan should accelerate the follow-up talks with the mainland to convince the mainland to widen the coverage of its tariff-free Taiwanese commodities,including other machine tools than turning machines and grinding machines.
So far,Taiwan-made turning machines and grinding machines are already included in the ECFA early-harvest list,enjoying zero tariff in exports to the mainland.In the first half of this year,Taiwan's exports of turning machines to the mainland surged 28.7%year on year and shipments of grinding machines to the mainland rose 59.1%.But the island's exports of electrical discharge machining centers to the mainland,in the meantime,slumped 18.1%year on year due to lack of zero-tariff advantage.
South Korea is already the world's No.4 machine tool maker,advancing Taiwan by two notches.Hsu pointed out that South Korean machine manufacturers have been very aggressive in the market,projecting South Korea's machine tool industry revenues to increase 11%year on year to US$6.2 billion this year.
Taiwan's machine-tool industry is estimated to have revenue of US$5.5 billion this year,up 8.7%from last year.But Taiwanese manufacturers estimated they would unseat Italian manufacturers as the world's No.3 exporter of machine tools this year.
