TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan and the United States will hold in-person trade talks next week in New York under a new joint initiative announced in June, the U.S. and Taiwanese governments said, a programme opposed by China, which views the island as its own territory.
Washington and Taipei unveiled the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade in June, days after the Biden administration excluded Taiwan from its Asia-focused economic plan designed to counter China’s growing influence.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said in a Thursday statement the “conceptual discussions” would take place Tuesday and Wednesday, with Assistant United States Trade Representative Terry McCartin as the lead trade official.
The U.S. delegation will also include representatives from the National Economic Council, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Treasury, the Small Business Administration, and the Food and Drug Administration, it added.
Taiwan’s Cabinet said its delegation would include officials from the economy and finance ministries, as well as the Office of Trade Negotiations.
“While we do not preset any timetables, both Taiwan and the United States have a high willingness to cooperate and believe that fruitful results can be achieved as soon as possible,” it said in a statement.
Taiwan has long pushed for a broad free trade deal with the United States, its most important international backer and foreign arms supplier even in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
China has said it “firmly” opposes the new trade talks.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Jeanny Kao. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
