US-Taiwan trade talks and Taiwan’s participation in international organizations will be the major focus of bilateral relations between Taipei and Washington in the near future, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said in Washington on Monday.
Wang, in the US capital to attend US President Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony, said the resumption of stalled talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) would be an important step forward.
Talks under the TIFA have been suspended since 2007 due to US dissatisfaction with Taiwan over restrictions on imports of some US beef products.
The US should also help Taiwan join the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bloc and support Taiwan’s bid to become an observer at the UN Framework Committee on Climate Change and the International Civil Aviation Organization, Wang said.
He also said he hoped the US would continue to support arms sales to Taiwan.
Taiwan’s representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) described Washington as a long-term ally of Taipei’s and said the two should seek to further economic cooperation.
King said the resumption of TIFA talks, a bilateral investment agreement and precipitating Taiwan’s entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership were his main goals.
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