Taiwan and the US are set to resume negotiations on economic issues under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) after a three-year hiatus.
The decision was finalized after a delegation of officials from the Office of the US Trade Representative, the US Department of Commerce and the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Washington headquarters met with Taiwanese officials in Taipei during a two-day visit on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In a press release issued yesterday morning, the AIT said: “The two sides are working to finalize mutually agreeable dates for the [TIFA] meeting and are targeting late 2010 or early 2011.”
The two sides “began discussions about the agenda for the TIFA, and agreed to have follow-up expert-level discussions on a range of issues and initiatives in the months leading up to the TIFA Trade and Investment Council meeting,” the press statement said.
Led by US Assistant Trade Representative for China Affairs Claire Reade, the US delegation discussed the full range of economic issues important to both sides during the visit, including how to broaden and deepen the strong bilateral trade and economic relationship under the auspices of TIFA, the AIT said, adding that Reade “reaffirmed the importance of the US-Taiwan bilateral economic relationship.”
The new round of TIFA Trade and Investment Council meetings will be chaired by Deputy Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis on the US side and Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Francis Liang (梁國欣) on the Taiwanese side.
Liang told the press yesterday that the US delegation also visited the Council of Agriculture Affairs and the Department of Health, exchanging ideas with officials on agricultural trade, investment, pharmaceutical pricing, product standards, environmental protection, electronic commerce, enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR), medical equipment trade and industry cooperation.
Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達), director--general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of North American Affairs, said both sides made “positive progress” during their meetings as they managed to narrow disagreements on existing bilateral issues.
The TIFA was established in September 1994 to resolve bilateral trade issues and enhance economic cooperation, with both sides taking turns hosting meetings once or twice a year.
Since 1998, the US has suspended the bilateral talks several times to express its dissatisfaction with Taiwan’s slow progress in IPR protection, pharmaceutical pricing and the opening up of its rice and telecommunications markets.
The latest suspension was in July 2007, when Taiwan failed to strike a deal with the US to completely open up its beef market in line with guidelines from the World Animal Health Organization.
Last October, Taiwan agreed to allow the import of US bone-in beef after signing the Taiwan-US beef protocol, paving the way for the resumption of talks, but it was then pushed back after the legislature banned imports of ground beef, offal and other beef parts.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) yesterday said the resumption of the TIFA talks indicated that the beef issue has taken a back seat to other economic and trade issues of mutual concern that could be dealt with under the framework.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS