WASHINGTON: The United States will launch new trade talks with Taiwan, US officials said yesterday, just days after the Biden administration excluded the island from its Asia-focused economic plan designed to counter China's growing influence.
Washington and Taipei will “move quickly to develop a roadmap” for the planned US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade in the coming weeks, which would be followed by in-person meetings in the US capital later in June, two senior US administration officials told reporters during a phone briefing.
The initiative would aim to “reach an agreement with high standard commitments that create inclusive and durable prosperity” on issues that include customs facilitation, fighting corruption, common standards on digital trade, labour rights, high environmental standards, and efforts to curb state-owned enterprises and non-market practices, one of the US officials said.
The bilateral initiative in some ways parallels US President Joe Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), an economic partnership with 13 Asian countries that he launched last week during a visit to Seoul and Tokyo. But the US did not invite Taiwan to join the IPEF talks.
The announcement on Taiwan talks came after a virtual meeting yesterday between Deputy US Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi and Taiwan’s chief trade negotiator John Deng.
Speaking in Taipei, Deng said they hoped there would be an opportunity soon to seal a free trade deal that Taiwan has long sought with the US, adding the island was also still striving to participate in the IPEF.
The talks with Taiwan, led for Washington by the US Trade Representative's office, would supplement several existing dialogues with the island, including one led by the Commerce Department on export controls and other supply chain issues, the US official said.
“We think there’s a lot of robust areas that we can cover, that would really deepen our economic engagement, our economic ties, without dealing with market access issues. But of course, obviously, we’re not ruling anything out for the future,” the official said. – Reuters
