US, Taiwan Talk Trade in Agriculture, Environment, and Labor

Taipei, Apr 29 (EFE).- Taiwan and the United States began Monday in Taipei a round of trade negotiations focused on agriculture, environment and labor issues, as part of the so-called US-Taiwan Trade Initiative on Trade in the 21st century , running from 2022.

In statements to the media, Trade Negotiations Office Deputy Director Yuan Yang Jen-ni said these conversations are somewhat more complex than previous ones due to the different regulatory and legal frameworks around these topics.

“Having negotiations in person also means that both sides are willing to communicate better,” said Yang, who did not reveal further details about the content of the negotiations that will be held behind closed doors until Saturday.

According to US Agriculture Department figures, Taiwan was the seventh largest market for agricultural products and derivatives from the US last year, reaching a value of $3.7 billion.

According to this same organization, the US was the main destination for Taiwanese agricultural exports in 2023 with $$935 million, which represented 17 percent of the island’s total agricultural sales abroad that year.

This dialogue occurs within the framework of the so-called US-Taiwan Trade Initiative on Trade in the 21st Century, under which Taipei and Washington signed the first part of a partial trade agreement last year.

Although this trade agreement is far from being a free trade agreement, it has been described by Taipei as the most extensive trade pact between both sides since Washington established diplomatic ties with Beijing in 1979.

That partial agreement is limited, covering issues such as customs forms, regulatory practices and anti-corruption measures, but it does not address tariffs on certain goods or Taiwanese complaints about double taxation in the US.

China said it opposed the signing of that partial trade agreement last year, arguing that it is a violation of the “One China” policy.

Taiwan, where the Chinese nationalist army withdrew after defeat at the hands of communist troops in the civil war, has been governed autonomously since the end of the war, although China claims sovereignty over the island. EFE

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