The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved the first agreement under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, sending it to the US Senate where it is expected to be ratified.
The initiative streamlines customs checks, looks to improve regulatory procedures and establishes anti-corruption measures.
The American Institute in Taiwan signed the agreement on June 1 with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US.
Photo courtesy of Z.Media
In Taipei, Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) said that expanding agricultural exports to the US would be a priority issue in negotiations of the second phase of the initiative.
Deng in an interview with media personality Frances Huang (黃光芹) said that environmental protection and labor issues would also be high on the agenda for negotiations in the second part of the trade initiative with the US.
The agreement covers 81 articles in five key areas and is a complete pact, Deng said, adding that it has legal basis and is a formal accord, unlike most of the deals previously signed with the US, which were in the form of memorandums.
The agreement covers the areas of customs administration and trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, services domestic regulation, anti-corruption, and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Taiwan and the US are to hold trade talks on the more complicated topics of environmental protection, labor and agricultural issues, Deng said.
On the issue of agriculture, the focus would be on Taiwan’s exports of agricultural products to the US, he said.
China used to be the largest market for Taiwanese agricultural exports.
However, Beijing has over the past few years banned the importation of several Taiwanese agricultural products, prompting the nation to shift exports to Singapore and Japan, he added.
The US is the biggest market for Taiwan’s agricultural goods and processed agricultural products, Deng said.
Regarding environmental protection, Taiwan would seek an environmental protection agreement with Washington, Deng said.
The government also hopes to create a favorable work environment for Taiwanese, he added.
The topics in the next phase of talks would be “a little more difficult” to discuss than the previous five items, Deng said.
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