The United States Trade Representative (USTR) said Monday that it is open to the possibility that upcoming negotiations with Taiwan could lead to an early harvest agreement.
The negotiations will cover a wide range of topics such as anti-corruption, small and medium sized enterprises, good regulatory practices, domestic regulation of services and trade facilitation, according to a senior USTR official.
In a background briefing on the second round of talks under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade scheduled to start next week, the official said although reaching consensus through trade negotiations will take time, as there's a great deal of excitement for this trade initiative on both sides, the U.S. side wants to "move forward as quickly as possible."
"I will also not rule out the possibility of an early harvest agreement" covering these trade issues, he said, while also emphasizing there is no timetable on when the agreement will be reached.
The upcoming round of talks will start in Taiwan from Jan. 14-17. The U.S. delegation will be led by Assistant United States Trade Representative Terry McCartin, while Taiwan's Deputy Trade Representative from the Office of Trade Negotiations Yang Jen-ni (???) will lead Taiwan's delegation of officials from related government agencies.
It will be the first time in recent years that a senior U.S. trade representative has visited Taiwan.
The official said the negotiations in Taipei will be text based, and that throughout the process of developing these texts, the U.S. side has consulted with members of Congress and a wide range of stakeholders for their input and perspectives.
The official added that the U.S. delegation will meet with stakeholders in Taipei next week to solicit their opinions.
Commenting on China's concerns over the U.S.-Taiwan trade initiative, the official said the U.S. has long-term economic and trade ties with Taiwan as Taipei is one of Washington's major trading partners, and the initiative simply aims to forge a closer relationship.
The official emphasized Washington has held regular engagements with Taipei over the years, including many discussions under a bilateral trade and investment framework agreement.
"In any event, once fully completed, the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, we believe, will be a foundational pillar of the Biden-Harris administration's new approach to trade policy," the official said.
The ambitious trade initiative kicked off by the U.S. and Taiwan on June 1, 2022, focuses negotiations on 11 areas, including trade facilitation, regulatory practices, standards, state-owned enterprises, non-market policies and practices, as well as anti-corruption.
The first round of talks was held in New York from Nov. 8-9, 2022.
The trade initiative was unveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden after Taiwan was excluded from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a U.S.-led multilateral partnership involving 12 other countries, which has been touted as a counterweight to China's ambitions in the region.
While it has been positioned as a trade deal, the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade does not cover the issue most typically covered in normal trade negotiations -- tariff reduction.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel