The US and Taiwan have completed talks on a trade deal to deepen economic ties amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. The US and Taiwan have reached agreement on their “21st Century” trade initiative, covering customs and border procedures, regulatory practices and small businesses, the US Trade Representative said on Thursday.
The USTR said that after the signing of the initial agreement of the US-Taiwan Initiative on Trade in the 21st Century, other, more complex trade areas including agriculture, digital trade, labor and environmental standards, state-owned enterprises and non-market policies Negotiations and exercises will begin. US Trade Representative Catherine Tai said in a statement that the deal strengthens US-Taiwan ties and shows they can work together to advance trade priorities for their populations.
Catherine Tai said that we are ready to continue these negotiations and finalize a strong and high-standard trade agreement to meet the economic challenges of the 21st century. Taiwan’s trade negotiation office called the agreement “historically significant” in a statement. He said Taiwan aims to finalize negotiations on all remaining issues by the end of the year. The agreement is not expected to alter goods tariffs, but supporters say it would strengthen economic ties between the US and Taiwan, open up the Chinese-claimed island to more US exports.
Democratic-ruled Taiwan strongly rejects China’s claims to sovereignty. China has reacted angrily to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s recent engagements with high-ranking US politicians, including an April meeting with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy. The announcement of the trade deal comes just ahead of planned meetings between China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wenta and USTR Tai and US Commerce Secretary Gina Rai
