June 1, 2022
Following his meeting with United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 20, Minister without Portfolio of the Republic of China (Taiwan) John C. C. Deng held a virtual meeting with US Deputy Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi on June 1, Taipei time. They announced the launch of the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, which will facilitate the development of a roadmap for negotiations on economic and trade agreements with high-standard commitments. The two sides agreed to hold their first consultations on the new initiative in Washington, DC, before the end of June. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) highly welcomes and supports this announcement, which marks the beginning of a new chapter in bilateral economic ties. Given the tremendous interest in and momentum for consultations on the part of both countries, MOFA is confident that this new bilateral initiative will soon achieve substantive outcomes.
The US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade covers a wide range of areas, including digital trade enhancement, trade facilitation, sound regulatory practices, SMEs, environmental protection, standards, and addressing non-market policies. These are key issues in economic and trade development in the Indo-Pacific and demonstrate that Taiwan and the United States regard each other as priority trade partners, which is of great strategic significance. The two countries have already established sound and solid platforms for economic and trade dialogue, such as the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, and the Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration. In recent years, Taiwan and the United States have held intensive discussions on bilateral and regional economic and trade issues of common concern.
Under the newly announced initiative, Taiwan and the United States seek to develop a more comprehensive, substantive, and advanced trade partnership that will strengthen Taiwan’s linkages with the global economy and deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. MOFA and other related ministries will strive to steadily elevate the Taiwan-US economic and trade partnership. They will also promote pertinent initiatives and continue to seek participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity so as to contribute to concerted efforts to advance freedom, openness, stability, and prosperity in the region.