First agreement under Taiwan-US trade initiative comes into force
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
TAIPEI - The first agreement signed under a trade initiative between Taiwan and the US comes into force on Dec 10, both governments announced, as Taipei hopes a raft of ongoing talks will eventually lead to a free trade deal.
Taiwan was excluded from the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, part of the Biden administration’s effort to counter what it says is Beijing’s increasing economic and military coercion in the region, when it was set up in 2022.
But the US then set up the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, which joined the US-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue and Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration Framework, which the two sides have.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement the first agreement under the 21st Century Trade initiative covers areas including anti-corruption, Customs administration and trade facilitation, and small and medium-sized enterprises.
“The entry into force of the first agreement under our 21st Century Trade initiative represents an important step forward in strengthening the US-Taiwan economic and trade relationship,” she said.
Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said in a separate statement the agreement showed the “rock-solid partnership” between Taiwan and the US.
“Given the highly volatile global situation, it is of strategic significance for Taiwan to consolidate and expand its relationships with important economic and trade partners,” it said.
Talks on a second agreement under the framework, covering areas like labour, the environment and agriculture, are ongoing.
Taiwanese officials have expressed a desire to ultimately sign a free trade agreement with the US, even if Washington has put all such negotiations on ice.
The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.
Beijing, which objects to any form of official interaction between Taipei and Washington, has been angered by the trade talks.
The Taiwanese government rejects China’s sovereignty claims. REUTERS
