US and Taiwan sign first agreement under new trade initiative

Office of US Trade Representative confirms signing of deal, which had been reached two weeks ago, takes place in Washington

Further economic and trade negotiations will build on the pact, which includes customs, regulatory and anticorruption measures

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The United States and Taiwan signed the first agreement under a new trade initiative on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:05am, 2 Jun 2023Updated: 5:38am, 2 Jun 2023

The United States and Taiwan have signed a new deal intended to strengthen their economic and trade relationship, the office of the US Trade Representative announced on Thursday.

The agreement – the first under a framework for talks between Washington and Taipei called the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, which was launched last year – includes allowances for electronic documentation and payments, measures meant to speed up trade between the two markets.

The agreement was signed in Washington under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, with Deputy US Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi present.

The USTR office announced two weeks ago that the US and Taiwan had concluded negotiations for the agreement, which covers customs administration and trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, services regulation, anticorruption and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Sarah Bianchi, the deputy US trade representative, attended the signing of the agreement. Photo: USTR

Through these provisions, “US businesses will be able to bring more products to Taiwan and Taiwanese customers, while creating more transparent and streamlined regulatory procedures that can facilitate investment and economic opportunities in both markets,” USTR said.

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