Taiwan and the US are planning to announce negotiations to deepen economic ties, people familiar with the matter said, as Beijing cautioned Washington against getting too close to Taipei.
The talks would focus on enhancing economic cooperation and supply-chain resiliency, falling short of a traditional free-trade agreement, the people said.
The deal is likely to include areas of trade facilitation, supply-chain work and trade in agricultural products, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of a public announcement.
Photo: Bloomberg
Those elements are similar to the pillars in the 13-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) that US President Joe Biden announced on Monday during his visit to Tokyo.
While a bipartisan group of lawmakers wanted Taiwan in that group, it was excluded because some nations that agreed to join refused to have Taipei included over fear of retribution from Beijing, people familiar with the process said.
The talks are an effort to elevate the US-Taiwan economic relationship, the people said, and would go beyond existing discussions under a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between the two governments.
A US Trade Representative spokesman declined to comment on the plans for talks on deepening bilateral economic engagement.
A spokesperson for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US did not respond to a request for comment.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) told Bloomberg TV this week that she and her Taiwanese counterpart, Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中), had “very positive conversations” when they met in Bangkok last Saturday.
“We are committed to deepening and enhancing the bilateral trade and economic relationship, and we instructed our teams to work over the course of the next couple of weeks on that deepening and enhancement,” Tai said.
The two agreed to meet again in the coming weeks to discuss the path forward, the US Trade Representative said in a readout.
A large Taiwanese government and business delegation is expected to attend the SelectUSA Investment Summit outside Washington next month, giving both sides another chance to meet face-to-face.
US officials have said that the reliance on Taiwan for semiconductors in particular is a geopolitical strategic problem and have pushed for a subsidy program that incentivizes domestic manufacturing of chips. That initiative is part of broader legislation that could pass later this year.
Taiwan for years has been pushing the US to negotiate a trade agreement, but US officials have said that roadblocks in Taiwan’s economic practices, including on agriculture, would need to be resolved as a prerequisite for any negotiations to take place.
The administration of former US president Donald Trump, in particular, was hesitant to engage with Taiwan economically while it was negotiating its phase one trade deal with Beijing, people familiar with the deliberations said at the time.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source