TAIPEI (Reuters) – The first agreement signed under a trade initiative between Taiwan and the United States will come into force on Tuesday, both governments announced, as Taipei hopes a raft of ongoing talks will eventually lead to a free trade deal.
Taiwan was excluded from the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, part of the Biden administration’s effort to counter what it says is Beijing’s increasing economic and military coercion in the region, when it was set up in 2022.
But the United States then set up the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, which joined the U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue and Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration Framework the two sides have.
In a statement, United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said the first agreement under the 21st Century Trade initiative that will come into force covers areas including anti-corruption, customs administration and trade facilitation, and small and medium-sized enterprises.
“The entry into force of the first agreement under our 21st Century Trade Initiative represents an important step forward in strengthening the U.S.-Taiwan economic and trade relationship,” she said.
Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said in a separate statement the agreement showed the “rock solid partnership” between Taiwan and the United States.
“Given the highly volatile global situation, it is of strategic significance for Taiwan to consolidate and expand its relationships with important economic and trade partners,” it said.
Talks on a second agreement under the framework, covering areas like labour, the environment and agriculture, are ongoing.
Taiwanese officials have expressed a desire to ultimately sign a free trade agreement with the United States, even if the U.S. government has put all such negotiations on ice.
The United States is Chinese-claimed Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties.
China, which objects to any form of official interaction between Taipei and Washington, has been angered by the trade talks.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Jeanny Kao; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
