Senior Taiwan and US officials move to resume trade talks
- US trade representative Katherine Tai and her Taiwanese counterpart John Deng discussed plans to resume talks on the trade and investment agreement
- The process stalled under Donald Trump and the Biden White House has not said whether it wants a trade deal – but the talks risk Beijing’s anger
US trade representative Katherine Tai spoke to her Taiwanese counterpart John Deng online on Thursday as the two governments moved to restart the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks that were discontinued under the Trump administration.
“Ambassador Tai and Minister Deng committed to the convening of the 11th TIFA Council meeting under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States [the two bodies that represent the respective governments in the absence of formal diplomatic ties],” the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a statement on Thursday.
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“Ambassador Tai emphasised the importance of the US-Taiwan trade and investment relationship and explained the Biden-Harris administration’s worker-centred trade priorities,” the statement said.
“Ambassador Tai also expressed the United States’ continued interest in working together with Taiwan on issues of common concern in multilateral organisations.”
The statement did not provide further details of what else the two had discussed and did not specify when the TIFA talks would resume.
Deng’s office was not immediately available for comment.