American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Chairman Raymond Burghardt will press hard for a breakthrough in the US-Taiwan beef dispute when he arrives in Taipei for private talks with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) today.
Sources close to Burghardt said the beef issue would “most likely” top his agenda, while Ma was expected to concentrate on the possible future sale of F-16C/D aircraft and US help in acquiring diesel-electric submarines.
The sources said that beyond assuring Ma that the sale of F-16s was still under consideration, Burghardt would have little new to say about arms sales.
One source stressed that Burghardt himself was under pressure and that he had told Taipei in advance of his visit that there were trade issues he hoped would be dealt with “early on” in Ma’s second term.
Burghardt will be in Taiwan until Thursday, his 12th visit since his appointment as AIT chairman in February 2006.
Both the US Congress and the administration of US President Barack Obama want to proceed with Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks with Taiwan, but there can be no real progress until the beef problem is settled.
The possibility of Taiwan joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to enhance trade and investment among partner countries will also be raised in the Burghardt-Ma talks.
While TPP membership for Taiwan might be a long shot, some trade experts believe it could be possible in the next six to 10 years, but again, immediate progress will depend on solving the beef issue.
Ma on Wednesday reiterated during a visit to Greater Kaohsiung that his administration would strive to make Taiwan a part of the TPP within the next decade.
“I would hope that Burghardt tries to get a serious read on what Ma’s US policy will be,” another Washington-based source said.
“Some have voiced concern about Ma’s China-leaning and in light of the US pivot to Asia, it is an important question,” the source said. “Is Ma as concerned about China as the rest of the region and wanting to have a balanced relationship or is he leaning China’s way and less concerned about the US?”
During his Taiwan visit, Burghardt will also meet Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson and former presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
While he is not expected to discuss policy issues with her, he might use the occasion to again insist that the US was neutral in the election and would have worked closely with her if she had won.
Additional reporting by CNA
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
‘SPECIAL CHANNEL’: Taipei’s most important tasks are to stabilize industries affected by Trump’s trade tariffs and keep negotiations with Washington open, a source said National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) arrived in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Wu was leading a delegation for a meeting known as the “special channel,” the Financial Times reported earlier. It marked Trump’s first use of the channel since returning to the White House on Jan. 20. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was also a part of the delegation. The visit came days after China concluded war games around Taiwan and amid Trump’s
RSS