US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce is urging US President Barack Obama’s administration to include Taiwan in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.
“I will continue to press the administration to make sure Taiwan is seriously considered for inclusion in this important trade agreement,” Royce said on Friday.
At a committee hearing the day before on advancing US economic interests in Asia, Royce questioned two senior US Department of State officials on the issue.
US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Danny Russel said that both sides were working hard on a US-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and were looking closely at a Bilateral Investment Agreement.
Russel described Taiwan as the “kind of country” that would be in “serious consideration” to join the TPP in the future.
The 12 nations that hope to launch the TPP toward the end of this year are still negotiating the details of the deal.
Taiwan wants to join the group in a second membership round expected next year.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Charles Rivkin revealed at the hearing that he plans to visit Taiwan before the end of this month.
While he did not offer further details, other administration officials later confirmed that Rivkin expected to be quizzed about the TPP during his visit to Taipei.
Rivkin is responsible for US trade negotiations and investment treaties.
Other sources told the Taipei Times that Taiwan would be briefed following US Secretary of State John Kerry’s meetings in Beijing this weekend to discuss US-China economic and strategic issues.
There are fears that China might pressure founding TPP members to keep Taiwan out of the trade deal; Taipei is anxious for the US to counter such moves if they materialize.
Over the past few days, Chinese warships closely shadowed a new, high-tech US Navy vessel during a patrol through the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) — which Taiwan also claims — in the South China Sea.
“The two nations are playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse as the US military responds to a massive island-building campaign [by Beijing],” USA Today newspaper reported.
According to the US Navy, about US$5 trillion in trade passes through the South China Sea each year.
“China will do what it can to get its neighbors to lower their guard, but it may act more cooperatively if it feels more pressure,” American Enterprise Institute academic Michael Auslin said.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Auslin said that pressing China to adopt liberal norms “will always falter on the rocks of the [Chinese] Communist Party’s self-interest.”
“Yet, by reshaping the environment surrounding China, liberal states have a much better chance of curbing some of the policies that cause them to fear Beijing’s growing power and influence,” he added.
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