Published Date: 2021-06-10
Taiwan and the
United States could soon return to negotiations on trade and investment.
The two sides
signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement in 1994, a kind of agreement
that serves as a foundation for trade dialogue, and potentially a precursor to
a free-trade deal. Since then, the two sides have held ten rounds of trade
talks. However, the last round of talks was in October 2016, and the Trump
administration decided not to continue with them.
During a US House
of Representatives committee hearing on Monday, however, US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken said “We are engaged in conversations with Taiwan, or soon will
be—on some kind of framework agreement.”
On Tuesday, the
Wall Street Journal reported that US Trade Representative Katherine Tai could
launch renewed talks as early as Thursday.
Foreign Ministry
Spokesperson Joanne Ou said Thursday that the foreign ministry will continue
working to promote a return to talks alongside agencies such as the Cabinet’s
Office of Trade Negotiations and the economics ministry.