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U.S., Taiwan to launch trade talks after island excluded from Indo-Pacific group

02 June 2022 00:46 (UTC +04:00)

The United States will launch new trade talks with Taiwan, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, just days after the Biden administration excluded the Chinese-claimed island from its Asia-focused economic plan designed to counter China's growing influence, APA reports citing Reuters.

Washington and Taipei will "move quickly to develop a roadmap" for the planned U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade in the coming weeks, which would be followed by in-person meetings in the U.S. capital later in June, two senior U.S. administration officials told reporters during a phone briefing.

The initiative would aim to "reach an agreement with high standard commitments that create inclusive and durable prosperity" on issues that include customs facilitation, fighting corruption, common standards on digital trade, labor rights, high environmental standards, and efforts to curb state-owned enterprises and non-market practices, one of the U.S. officials said.

The bilateral initiative in some ways parallels U.S. President Joe Biden administration's Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), an economic partnership with 13 Asian countries that he launched last week during a visit to Seoul and Tokyo. But the United States did not invite democratically self-governed Taiwan to join the IPEF talks.

Countries approached by Washington were reluctant to join a grouping with the island for fear of angering Beijing, according to a U.S. official involved in the initial talks. Over 200 members of the U.S. Congress had urged Taiwan's inclusion in IPEF.

The announcement on Taiwan talks came after a virtual meeting on Wednesday between Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi and Taiwan's chief trade negotiator John Deng.

Speaking in Taipei, Deng said they hoped there would be an opportunity soon to seal a free trade deal that Taiwan has long sought with the United States, adding the island was also still striving to participate in the IPEF.

The talks with Taiwan, led for Washington by the U.S. Trade Representative's office, would supplement several existing dialogues with the island, including one led by the Commerce Department on export controls and other supply chain issues, the U.S. official said.