Page 78 - 2019 Annual Report Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Pleasurable Banquet: Distilling beautiful fragrances Unit Four: Upgrading the Competitiveness of Rural Industries
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The COA participated in the 5th Commission Meeting of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC).
7. Strengthening International Agricultural Cooperation
(1) Negotiating and signing free trade agreements
Regional economic integration is the main trend in global economic and trade liberalization at the present time. Taiwan must participate in regional economic and trade agreements in order to sustain our economic development. The "Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership" (CPTPP), signed by 11 nations and led by Japan, has been in effect since December 30, 2018. Taiwan is actively strengthening preparations to facilitate participation in the second round of CPTPP negotiations.
Facing the impact and opportunities for Taiwan’s agricultural sector after entry into the CPTPP in the future, the COA has continually collected and collated relevant information, maintained a firm grasp on the progress of negotiations, evaluated the potential impact on agriculture, and worked out negotiating positions and countermeasures. In addition, the government has continued budgeting for the "Fund for Redressing Damage to Farmers Caused by Agriculture Imports." The goals are to ensure farmers’ income, accelerate industrial transformation, and upgrade the
competitiveness of the agricultural sector, in order to cope with the possible impact of trade liberalization and seize the future opportunities arising from market liberalization of agricultural products in CPTPP member states.
(2) Active participation in international organizations
In 2019 the COA continued to participate in relevant activities of international organizations including the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Asian Productivity Organization (APO), the Asia- Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), and the African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO). We have also strengthened international and local industrial linkages with the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg), the Food and Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region (FFTC), and the International Center for Land Policy Studies and Training (ICLPST). The COA also participated in 83 annual meetings and relevant working group meetings of regional fisheries management organizations, including the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), the