Rising discord between Taiwan and China as crucial elections approach in Taiwan has raised the idea that Beijing could threaten the island's economy by terminating the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). The pact, signed in 2010 when cross-strait relations were more cordial, offers a range of preferential policies giving Taiwanese manufacturers and exporters duty-free access to the otherwise restrictive mainland market and establishes the possibility of extending that access to trade in services. With the agreement, China hoped to increase integration of the cross-strait economy, thus giving Beijing more influence over Taipei and creating an atmosphere on the island less hospitable to thoughts of independence. Although the deal as a whole is set to expire in June, neither the government in Beijing nor in Taipei has made any move to extend or renegotiate it.