Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/10
By: Huang Chiao-wen and Scully Hsiao

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) A free trade agreement between China and South will begin to hurt Taiwan’s economy within a year after it takes effect, as South Korean products made cheaper by lower tariffs gain an edge over Taiwanese goods in China, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said Friday.

Taiwanese exporters are expected to lose an estimated US$6 million to US$17 million in orders to South Korean rivals in the year after the pact takes effect, pulling down economic growth by 0.04 percent, according to a ministry report on the deal’s impact on Taiwan.

Losses will increase to between US$1.92 billion and US$4.25 billion within a decade after the agreement is put in place, the report forecast.     [FULL  STORY]