Taiwan appeals to US not to forget its desire for free trade deal

Taiwan says it is a reliable partner for the United States with shared democratic values. PHOTO: REUTERS

TAIPEI (REUTERS) - Taiwan's top trade negotiator appealed to the United States on Tuesday (June 7) not to forget that the island wants a free trade deal, but understands this will not happen immediately and is willing to make other agreements first as "building blocks".

Taiwan has long campaigned for such a deal, in what would be a strong show of support by the US for the Chinese-claimed island in the face of diplomatic and military pressure from Beijing. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified, by force if necessary.

Taiwan says it is a reliable partner for the US, with shared democratic values.

Taiwan and the US last week announced a new US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, which envisages new trade talks.

Taiwan's top trade negotiator John Deng, who goes to Washington at the end of the month for talks with senior US officials, told Reuters in an interview that ultimately what they wanted was a free trade agreement, even if the US government has put all such negotiations on ice.

"This is our hope, we must speak about this goal clearly, and let more people know this is Taiwan's aim that we are hoping for," he said in his office, close to the presidential office in central Taipei.

But Taiwan is "very realistic" and knows this is not something than can be achieved in the short term, Mr Deng added.

"Please don't forget this is what Taiwan wants. But of course, we understand you can't move now."

"Building blocks" can be established first, and then tariffs can be addressed at the end, he said.

While Taiwan has strong bipartisan support in Congress and the Senate, the Biden administration last month excluded Taipei from its Asia-focused economic plan designed to counter China's growing influence, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF.

Mr Deng said IPEF would be "more complete" if Taiwan was allowed in.

President Joe Biden angered China last month when he said the US would get involved militarily if China was to attack the island, seeming to break with a long-held policy of not making clear how the US might react. Washington denied any policy change.

CPTPP application

The other grouping Taiwan wants to join, and applied to do so in September, is the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). China has also applied, and says it opposes Taiwan joining.

Mr Deng said Taiwan would have to wait for Britain's more advanced application to be approved first before member states - Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam - would consider Taiwan.

"Their answer for now is that Britain is taking up too much manpower," he said, adding that a working group to consider Taiwan's application has not been set up.

But Mr Deng said he did not think the CPTPP should have to follow the World Trade Organisation model, whereby both Taiwan and China joined at the same time, to avoid any thorny political issues of favouring either party.

"No country has proposed this, not formally," he said. "It should be based on merit."

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