Despite pressure and aggression from the Chinese over the past two weeks, The United States and Taiwan have agreed to start brand new trade under a new initiative.
Both nations disclosed the US-Taiwan 21st Century Trade in June of this year right after Taipei was excluded from Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), an economic partnership with 13 Asian countries. IPEF was launched during President Joe Biden’s visit to Seoul and Tokyo to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
The office of the US Trade Representative announced that both sides had reached a “consensus on the negotiating mandate” and the first round of talks is expected to take place in autumn this year.
“We plan to pursue an ambitious schedule for achieving high-standard commitments and meaningful outcomes covering the eleven trade areas in the negotiating mandate that will help build a fairer, more prosperous and resilient 21st-century economy,” Deputy United States Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi said in a statement.
The former Minister of Economic Affairs and top trade negotiator, John Weng told reporters in Taipei that he was hoping that the talks started next month and this trade agreement later blossoms into a free trade agreement with the US.
The negotiating mandate released along with the announcement said the United States and Taiwan had set a robust agenda for talks on issues like trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, and removing discriminatory barriers to trade.
It said the beginning of the formal talks would be to reach agreements with “high standard commitments and economically meaningful outcomes”.
Deng highlighted that one of the topics of discussion with Washington will be China’s economic coercion and how Beijing used it against Lithuania after they opened a de facto embassy in Taipei. He also stated that Beijing’s economic coercion is harmful to the global trade and economic order.
The announcement of the trade talks has made Beijing and the foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that China is opposed to any country signing any official trade deal with Taiwan and urged the US to stop its engagement with the Island nation.
