The UK looks forward to deepening cooperation with Taiwan in high-tech fields through an enhanced trade partnership to be negotiated, a spokesperson for the British Department for Business and Trade said.
The remarks came after London and Taipei late last month announced that they would start talks later this year on an “enhanced trade partnership” (ETP) to bolster their bilateral trade relationship.
“The UK and Taiwan share deep trade and investment ties, and our enhanced trade partnership will deepen engagement and take advantage of growing opportunities for British businesses,” the spokesperson said.
Photo: AP
“Our ambition is to increase trade cooperation in high-tech sectors such as digital and clean energy and we will engage with businesses on how we can achieve this together soon,” they said.
The Department for Business and Trade on July 26 said that the partnership would be underpinned by a memorandum of understanding on bilateral investment, digital trade, energy and a transition to net zero carbon emissions.
However, the department did not comment on whether the ETP discussions would be included on the agenda of the 26th annual UK-Taiwan Trade Talks.
The talks are to be held this year in London and cohosted by Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) and British Minister of State for Business and Trade Nigel Huddleston.
Bilateral trade between Taiwan and the UK reached ￡8.6 billion (US$10.92 billion) last year, according to the latest data released on Aug. 1 by the Department for Business and Trade.
Since 2013, trade between Taiwan and the UK has steady increased.
From the second quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year, Taiwan was the UK’s 32nd-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade accounting for 0.5 percent of the UK’s total trade.
Taiwan is the UK’s 10th-largest trading partner in Asia.
From January to April this year, the total bilateral trade between Taiwan and the UK was US$1.97 billion, government data showed.
The push for more high-tech cooperation with Taiwan, a semiconductor manufacturing powerhouse, came as the British government launched its national semiconductor strategy in May. It commits a dedicated agency under the Department for Business and Trade to support the international expansion of British companies in the government’s priority technology sectors, including semiconductors.
The department has listed Taiwan as one of the UK’s focus markets in its Digital Trade Network for Asia Pacific initiative to enhance the ability of British digital companies to export and connect with international customers in the region.
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