US-Taiwan New Economic Partnership Talks Agreed to Start Later This Month

The United States and Taiwan have agreed to start talks on a new economic partnership later this month.

Since the United States did not add Taiwan to the IPEF = Indo-Pacific economic framework with the opposition to China in mind, it has shown an alternative stance of emphasizing Taiwan.

Minister Without Portfolio Tow Zhenchu, who is in charge of trade negotiations in Taiwan, announced at a press conference in Taipei on the night of the 1st that he had agreed to establish a forum for new economic cooperation discussions with the US Trade Representative.

The talks will cover 11 areas, including facilitating trade procedures and digital trade, with the first talks in Washington this month.

The Biden administration in the United States announced last month that it would start talks to launch IPEF with a view to countering China, but it did not add Taiwan, which is eager to participate, as an initial member, and overstimulated China. It is believed that there was consideration for participating countries from Southeast Asia that they did not want to do.

Many of the areas covered by the new talks between the United States and Taiwan overlap with IPEF, and the United States has shown an alternative stance of emphasizing Taiwan.

"We will continue to aim to participate in IPEF," said Minister Without Portfolio Tow, while appealing that the start of new talks is "a historic development in Taiwan-US trade relations."

* Toe is roughly "Noboru"