The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham) yesterday called on Taipei and Washington to resume the long-stalled Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks now that the controversial issue of Taiwan's restrictions on US beef imports has been resolved.
In a statement issued yesterday, AmCham welcomed the announcement that Taipei and Washington had reached agreement on a protocol on the liberalization of imports of US beef products into Taiwan.
“The protocol removes what had been a major irritant in the bilateral economic relationship. AmCham now urges the two governments to quickly schedule the long-delayed next round of TIFA talks, which should take place in Taipei,” AmCham said.
PHOTO: PICHI CHUANG, REUTERS
“TIFA talks have proven in the past to be a highly useful vehicle for the two sides to discuss trade and investment-related issues in detail, moving bilateral economic relations forward to the benefit of both economies,” the statement added.
At a separate setting yesterday, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said TIFA talks are expected to resume by the end of this year now that the issue of beef imports from the US has been resolved.
Shih said he recently reported to Vice Premier Eric Chu (朱立倫) about the importance of renewing TIFA talks and said that under the TIFA dialogue framework, Taiwan will seek to talk about e-commerce, product verification and other issues.
Shih's remarks echoed those made by William Stanton, the top US envoy to Taiwan, who said on Thursday that as soon as the beef issue “hurdle” was cleared, TIFA talks aimed at strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations between Taiwan and the US could be resumed.
Taiwan and the US signed the TIFA in 1994 as a stepping stone to a Taiwan-US free trade agreement. Under this framework, meetings were held once or twice a year until July 2007.
Nefeterius Akeli McPherson, senior media affairs liaison of the Office of the US Trade Representative, welcomed Taiwan's decision to lift the ban on US bone-in beef from young cattle.
The latest development is conducive to a resumption of the TIFA talks, McPherson said.
“We look forward to seeing both sides getting the opportunity to communicate, since there are so many trade issues to be settled,” she said.
Meanwhile, a Washington-based Taiwanese official cast doubt on whether the new round of TIFA talks will take place this year, given that the US government is running a tight schedule for the rest of this year, including an annual meeting of the China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, a visit to China by US President Barack Obama and the APEC leadership summit.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS