The United States and Taiwan have entered the first agreement under their Initiative on 21st Century Trade, designed to strengthen the economic and trade partnership between the two nations.
“We thank our Taiwan partners for helping us reach this important milestone and look forward to upcoming negotiations on additional trade areas set forth in the initiative’s negotiating mandate," U.S. Trade Representative Spokesperson Sam Michel said in a statement on the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative website.
The historic signing of the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade on June 1 was attended by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi as well as officials from the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, who signed the agreement.
The agreement consists of several chapters covering specific topics. For instance, a chapter on customs administration and trade facilitation looks to make it easier, faster and less costly for American companies to import to Taiwan. This will be accomplished, USTR said, with less red tape and smoother border procedures.
To help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) better understand the regulations associated with doing business in both markets, USTR said a Good Regulatory Practices Committee will be formed to monitor regulatory practices and promote cooperation.
Another chapter, devoted to services domestic regulation, demonstrates the focus on equitable treatment for service suppliers and makes sure that information flows like a steady stream between applicants and regulators, who must maintain independence of the field they supervise. Prohibited under the agreement will be gender bias when it comes to licensing and corruption including bribes.
This new agreement draws from the framework of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, addressing issues like money laundering, safeguards for whistleblowers, denial of entry for foreign public officials and the recovery of corruption monies. Additionally, the agreement makes it possible for SMEs to benefit as it promotes trade and investment opportunities using training programs, trade education, funding, missions and better access to capital and credit. Efforts are being made, USTR said, to make sure diverse, underserved and underrepresented business groups have a say and a place in SME dialogues as the trade agreement moves forward.
For the full text of the agreement, those interested can visit USTR's website.
