American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Stephen Young poured cold water yesterday on hopes that a US-Taiwan free trade agreement (FTA) would be inked any time soon.
Speaking to members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei yesterday, Young said "there are ... impediments to negotiating an FTA," citing the June 30 expiry of the US' Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which grants Taiwan "fast track" status for an FTA with the US.
The TPA allows the US president to negotiate trade pacts that Congress can approve or disapprove but not filibuster or amend.
"I don't think it's reasonable to expect to start a new set of FTA talks now and have a finalized agreement ready to present to Congress before TPA expires," Young said, adding that an extension of the TPA beyond June 30 was doubtful.
"Some of the new leadership [in Congress] are stating that [they] will not re-authorize [the TPA] unless it is strengthened with provisions on environmental protection and labor rights. And before you know it, the US will be in the middle of a presidential election campaign," Young said.
He also called on Taiwan "to negotiate with China to open the three links, especially direct flights, as soon as possible," and suggested that doing so could win the country its much sought-after trade deal.
However, in response to a question, he said that the US would not ink an FTA with Taiwan just for political reasons.
Economic considerations would be the basis for a future FTA, he added, encouraging the chamber's members to ask the Taiwanese authorities to give examples of how a US-Taiwan FTA would benefit their enterprises.
Young also praised Taiwan for "relying on sound, scientific data as the basis for reopening its market to US beef."
Meanwhile, 15 lawmakers on a legislative committee voted 5-0 yesterday to pass a draft report critical of the government's decision to resume US beef imports. They demanded the imports be suspended.
Pan-blue camp and Taiwan Solidarity Union lawmakers voted for the report after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators walked out of the meeting to show their disapproval. Eight committee members were absent.
DPP legislators Winston Dang (陳重信) and Wu Ming-ming (吳明敏) told reporters that the report's conclusions were "political" and disrespectful of professional opinions on food hygiene.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
RSS