The new Taiwan-US Initiative on 21st Century Trade has significant strategic implications, as it shows that Taiwan is a priority trading partner of the US and vice versa, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday.
The initiative, announced on Wednesday, is to provide a mechanism for economic and trade talks between the two nations in 11 areas, excluding tariffs.
It largely parallels the US’ Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which excluded Taiwan when it launched last week.
Photo: screen grab from Office of the US Trade Representative Twitter account
The first round of negotiations is to be held later this month in Washington, Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) told reporters on Wednesday following a virtual meeting with Deputy US Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi.
The initiative is “an important advancement in the economic relationship between Taiwan and the US,” Su told a Cabinet meeting yesterday.
It represents a new model of Taiwan-US engagement that not only provides a road map for signing a bilateral trade pact, but would also help the two nations develop a more comprehensive, substantive, cutting-edge and sustainable economic partnership, he added.
It would also be of great benefit to Taiwan’s efforts to join regional trade mechanisms such as the IPEF and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as well as reaffirm the strategic significance of Taiwan and the US as each other’s priority trading partners, Su said.
Taiwan is an indispensable link in global supply chains, he said, adding that Washington realizes the need to bolster its economic ties with Taiwan to make global trade more resilient and secure.
Taiwan is also at the forefront of democracies’ fight against authoritarianism, with the Russia-Ukraine war making its strategic position even clearer, he added.
American Institute in Taiwan Director Sandra Oudkirk yesterday said that the institute is ready to support the advancement of the exciting initiative, which aims to develop concrete ways to deepen the US-Taiwan economic relationship.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) wrote she was hopeful that the new bilateral trade initiative between Taiwan and the US would eventually lead to a trade agreement.
Separately yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) said the party was happy to see a breakthrough in Taiwan-US trade, but added that it is still only the beginning.
The framework still excludes the potential of a free-trade agreement, and does not guarantee that Taiwan would gain access to the CPTPP, he said.
KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) wrote on Facebook that after Trade and Investment Framework Agreement talks with the US resumed last year, Taiwan had many times expressed its desire for a free-trade agreement and to join the IPEF, but neither has come to pass.
Negotiations on the new initiative have not even started and the content is still unknown, he said.
“The question is, what significant progress is being made? What are these significant results?” he wrote, accusing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of using the agreement to score political points.
DPP spokeswoman Lee Yen-hui (李妍慧) hit back at the KMT, accusing it of discrediting the initiative because it does not want to see Taiwan-US ties improve.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan, Jason Pan and CNA
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS