Taiwan, US resume trade talks with commitment to meetings and cooperation

Covid-19 vaccines and chip supply chain among the matters discussed as the two sides revive negotiations that halted under the Trump administration

Deal with United States has long been an aim for the island since it may encourage other countries to follow suit

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Talks on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement have resumed after being paused since 2016. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:29pm, 30 Jun 2021Updated: 11:38pm, 30 Jun 2021

Taiwan and the US have committed to hold a series of meetings this year to iron out differences on trade practices and discuss cooperation in a range of areas, including the chip supply chain and custom manufacture of American vaccines.

The commitment came after the two sides on Wednesday resumed their long-stalled Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks with a virtual meeting, in which Taiwan’s chief trade negotiator expressed the island’s wish for a future bilateral trade pact.

“What was most important in the meeting [on Wednesday] was the reaching of a mutual commitment that our two sides would set up different working-level groups to discuss a variety of issues throughout the year,” John Deng, head of Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations, said in Taipei.

Deng said the commitment was significant after a five-year pause in the TIFA talks, and the working-level meetings would help to deepen mutual consensus and broaden US-Taiwan trade relations.

US trade representative Katherine Tai had agreed with her Taiwanese counterpart to restart the negotiations. Photo: TNS

The two sides had last held TIFA talks when Barack Obama was US president, but they had been paused since 2016 until US trade representative Katherine Tai and her Taiwanese counterpart Deng agreed earlier this month to restart the negotiations.

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