The United States will launch new trade talks with Taiwan, just days after the Joe Biden administration excluded the island from its Asia-Pacific trade initiative.
The U.S. officials said on Wednesday that US and Taiwan will “develop a roadmap" for the planned U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade in the coming weeks. Two senior U.S. administration officials said that in-person meetings between US and Taiwan leaders will take place in the U.S. in June.
U.S.-Taiwan Initiative
The U.S.-Taiwan Initiative aims to fight corruption, improve common standards on digital trade, implementation of labor rights, improvement in environmental standards, and efforts to curb state-owned enterprises and non-market practices.
Reportedly, this initiative in some ways parallels the Biden administration's Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), an economic partnership with 13 Asian countries that he launched last week during a visit to South Korea and Japan.
Biden unveiled the IPEF in Japan after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The alliance was deemed to counter a more assertive China in the Asia Pacific region.
The US did not invite Taiwan to join the IPEF talks
The US did not invite the Chinese-claimed island to join the IPEF talks. Reportedly, other south-east Asian countries were concerned about antagonizing China. Taiwan was left out of the initial talks. However, over 200 members of the U.S. Congress had urged Taiwan's inclusion in IPEF.
Reportedly, the announcement about U.S.-Taiwan trade talks came after a virtual meeting on Wednesday between Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi and Taiwan's chief trade negotiator John Deng.
John Deng said that Taiwan was striving to participate in the IPEF. Deng further said they hoped there would be an opportunity to seal a free trade deal with the United States. The initiative will help both countries to negotiate the various aspects of the trade.
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