Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) on Monday voiced hope that official negotiations on a new bilateral trade initiative could begin next month.
Hsiao was speaking after the inaugural meeting of the Taiwan-US Initiative on 21st-Century Trade — which was launched on June 1 — at the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) in Washington.
The closed-door meeting lasted about four hours and was headed by Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中), Taiwan’s chief trade negotiator, and US Deputy Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi.
Photo: CNA
Deng, who is isolating in Mexico after being diagnosed with COVID-19 there, participated virtually. Hsiao attended the meeting in person.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Hsiao said the meeting was “productive and comprehensive.”
Asked about a timetable on the launch of official talks on the new framework, Hsiao said the framework was currently at the “open comment period” stage, which would last until Friday next week.
“We hope that official talks could begin soon after the open comment period is over,” she said, adding that the exact timetable would be jointly decided by both sides.
According to the USTR Web site, the public comment period, which lasts for 30 days, invites “interested parties to submit comments to assist USTR as it develops negotiating objectives and positions for the agreements contemplated by the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-
Century Trade.”
In a USTR press release issued after the meeting, Bianchi was quoted as saying that the US and Taiwan had a “long-standing trade and investment relationship rooted in shared values.”
“This initiative will unlock market opportunities, promote innovation and create inclusive economic growth for our workers and businesses,” she said.
Bianchi and Deng also reiterated their shared interest to develop concrete ways to deepen the US-Taiwan economic and trade relationship, advance mutual trade priorities based on shared values, and promote innovation and inclusive economic growth for workers and businesses.
They also discussed the development of an ambitious roadmap for negotiations to reach agreements with “high-standard commitments and economically meaningful outcomes.”
The commitments are to cover a number of trade areas, including trade facilitation, regulatory practices, agriculture, climate action, anti-corruption, small and medium-sized enterprises, digital trade, labor, environment, standards, state-owned enterprises, and non-market policies and practices, the USTR said.
Bianchi and Deng also held roundtable conversations with several groups of US and Taiwan stakeholders, the press release said.
The meeting was also joined by US Congress members and labor and business leaders, who shared their views on the ways Washington and Taipei could jointly advance trade policies that benefit workers and businesses, and “promote inclusive, fair, and responsible growth in a way that benefits both of their economies,” the USTR said.
Both sides agreed to hold additional discussions in the near future, it said.
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