Taiwan and the US yesterday signed a statement of intent, paving the way for more bilateral trade and investment among small and medium-sized companies in the two countries.
The pact is also expected to help create job opportunities in both countries, US Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sanchez said during a signing ceremony in Taipei.
Sanchez signed the statement on behalf of the US Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS), along with Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) Chairman Wang Chih-kang (王志剛).
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“The statement of intent will help promote Taiwan as a commercial hub in the region, encourage US companies to exhibit at trade shows in Taiwan to target industries that hold the best opportunities for US companies here, and leverage both USFCS and TAITRA’s resources to promote the commercial relationship between the US and Taiwan,” Sanchez said. “It’s a win-win for both parties.”
For years, the US has expressed interest in using Taiwan as a gateway to China through the delegations it has sent to Taiwan, Wang said.
“Given Taiwan’s geographical advantages, we hope US companies can invest in Taiwan’s information and communications technology, green energy, biotechnology, education and tourism sectors, so that their made-in-Taiwan products can be exhibited in TAITRA’s exhibitions in China,” he said.
The statement of intent is an important step for deepening trade and investment ties between Taiwan and the US, as well as initiating the Pacific Bridge Initiative program.
Yesterday’s signing came after US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in September the two sides would resume bilateral talks under the long-stalled Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, and followed Taiwan’s inclusion in the US Visa-Waiver Program on Oct. 2.
However, Wang said the agreement was only in its initial stages and that the two countries needed to hold further discussions before solid impacts benefited people and businesses on both sides.
Sanchez is the highest-level official from the US Department of Commerce to visit Taiwan in a decade. Yesterday he also signed separate statements of intent with the Importers and Exporters Association of Taipei, the New Taipei Importers and the Exporters Chamber of Commerce in the interest of further advancing bilateral trade relations.
He said Steve Olson, the executive director of investment promotion program SelectUSA, is scheduled to visit Taiwan soon to encourage more Taiwanese businesses to invest in the US.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last