External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) hosted a field of distinguished service industry experts at its 2014 EU-Taiwan Service Industry Seminar. The seminar, attended by 186 representatives of European and Taiwanese industries,?government?authorities, and?academia, showcased insights in three service industry areas: Finance, ICT – Smart Cities, and Distribution, brought together service industry experts to share information on international trends of the industry, and to explore opportunities and challenges accompanying the rise in trade in services between the EU and Taiwan. This seminar provided a forum for all stakeholders to increase their understanding of regulatory and trade issues, facilitate EU-Taiwan cooperation in service industries and enhance the development of Taiwan’s service industry.

The event hosted experts from both the EU and Taiwan. The European experts shared presentations on the current negotiation of a TiSA (Trade in Services Agreement), in the framework of WTO, of which both Taiwan and the EU are negotiating parties; on the opening up of the financial industry; an overview of private sector experience in UK; the key elements in global value chains of smart cities; and the distribution services trend in Europe and the greater China area. Experts from Taiwan introduced how to cultivate business growth by listing in Taiwan, the future development of smart cities, cooperation opportunities between the EU and Taiwan, and the globalization on Taiwan distribution services.