The next round of agreements under the United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade should centre on agricultural exports, Taiwan’s top trade official said Wednesday (June 21).

In May, both sides reached accords on small and medium enterprises, customs procedures, regulatory practices, and measures against corruption. The initiative was seen as a speedier alternative to the 14-nation Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which Taiwan was not invited to.

During an online interview Wednesday, Chief Trade Representative John Deng said he expected the next round of agreements to include environmental protection, labour issues, and agriculture. Increasing exports of farm produce would be one of the most important topics.

Deng also noted that while in the past, Taiwan and the US usually signed memorandums of understanding, the new accords were official and showed the same structure as international agreements, the Liberty Times reported. For the first time, the documents of a Taiwan-US accord also had equivalent versions in English and Chinese, according to Deng.

Previous talks about farm products mostly centered on US demands for Taiwan to open its markets to beef and pork, but this time, Taiwan would be the side looking to promote its exports, Deng said. Excess agricultural products used to be exported to China, but due to Beijing’s recent bans, Singapore and Japan had become Taiwan’s prime markets.

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4925033

Category: Taiwan