Taiwan’s top trade negotiator yesterday appealed to the US not to forget that the nation wants a free-trade deal, but understands this will not happen immediately and is willing to make other agreements first as “building blocks.”
Taiwan has long campaigned for such a deal, in what would be a strong show of support for the nation in the face of unrelenting diplomatic and military pressure from Beijing. It says it is a reliable partner for the US with shared democratic values.
Taiwan and the US last week announced a new US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, which envisages new trade talks.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Taiwan’s top trade negotiator, Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中), who is scheduled to visit Washington at the end of this month for talks with senior US officials, told reporters in an interview that ultimately what the nation wants is a free-trade agreement, even if the US government has put all such negotiations on ice.
“This is our hope, we must speak about this goal clearly, and let more people know this is Taiwan’s aim that we are hoping for,” Deng said in his office in Taipei.
However, Taiwan is “very realistic” and knows this is not something that can be achieved in the short term, he said.
“Please don’t forget this is what Taiwan wants, but of course, we understand you can’t move now,” he said.
“Building blocks” can be established first, and then tariffs can be addressed at the end, Deng said.
While Taiwan has strong bipartisan support in the US Congress, US President Joe Biden’s administration last month excluded Taipei from its economic plan designed to counter China’s growing influence, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
Deng said that the IPEF would be “more complete” with Taiwan.
Biden angered China last month when he said that the US would get involved militarily if China were to attack the nation.
The other grouping Taiwan wants to join, and applied to do so in September last year, is the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). China has also applied and says it opposes Taiwan joining.
Deng said that Taiwan would have to wait for Britain’s more advanced application to be approved first before member states would consider Taiwan.
“Their answer for now is that Britain is taking up too much manpower,” he said, adding a working group to consider Taiwan’s application has not been set up.
However, Deng said he did not think the CPTPP should have to follow the WTO model, whereby Taiwan and China joined at the same time, to avoid any thorny political issues of favoring either party.
“No country has proposed this, not formally,” Deng said. “It should be based on merit.”
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
RSS