The third round of talks between Taiwan and Nicaragua on a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) is slated to start today in Miami, Florida, Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) officials said yesterday.
The Taiwan delegation will be headed by Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Ruey-long (陳瑞隆).
The Taiwan delegation will include officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, Council of Agriculture, MOEA Industrial Development Bureau, and MOEA Bureau of Foreign Trade.
Market Access
The meeting, which will run through Feb. 4, will center on the topics of market access regulations and procedures, investment, and the service industry, according to the MOEA.
The two sides are expected to reach consensus on the formation of detailed articles of the proposed agreement during the Miami talks, a MOEA official suggested.
He added that they are expected to begin the legal review of the planned accord.
Tariff Reductions
The two sides are also expected to focus more on issues concerning tariff reductions for agricultural and industrial products, a list of products to benefit from market opening, and regulations on product designations, the official said.
In light of the fact that bilateral trade between Taiwan and Panama grew by 112 percent for the year after the Taiwan-Panama FTA came into effect Jan. 1, last year, it has believed that an FTA between Taiwan and Nicaragua will significantly boost bilateral trade between the two countries, MOEA officials said.
Bilateral Boost
The MOEA officials added that the ministry also hopes the signing of an FTA will significantly increase economic and investment relations between the two countries.
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