1. Taiwan's APEC bilateral talks to focus on CPTPP bid: Top trade negotiator

Taiwan's top trade negotiator John Deng (鄧振中) said that the main aim of bilateral talks at the ongoing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is to build up support for Taiwan's Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) participation. According to the Office of Trade Negotiations, headed by Deng, the hope is that the First Agreement will expand and include other topics mandated in the initiative, such as agriculture, digital trade, labor, environment, state-owned enterprises, and nonmarket policies and practices.

2. MOA eyeing dairy industry boost

The Ministry of Agriculture is to propose a four-year plan for the dairy industry by next month, which is to include subsidies for replacing low-producing cows, Acting Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said on November 15^th. Chen made the comment at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee to discuss the ministry’s budget for next year. The plan is to include measures to boost demand for domestic milk, for example by promoting the use of long-lasting milk in remote schools where it is difficult to deliver fresh milk, he said. Labels would also be redesigned to clearly delineate domestically produced from imported milk, he added.