US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) on Thursday declined to say if Taiwan would be invited to join the Indo-Pacific economic plan of US President Joe Biden’s administration, spurring US Senate criticism that excluding Taipei would be a missed opportunity.
Taiwan has voiced its desire to be a “full member” in the forthcoming Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), one part of the Biden administration’s effort to counter what it says is Beijing’s increasing economic and military coercion in the region.
The administration says the still fledgling IPEF aims to be inclusive, but it has not publicly detailed any membership plans. IPEF is intended as a flexible economic framework that would align members on supply chain security, infrastructure, labor standards, clean energy and other issues.
Photo: AFP
Tai, testifying before the Senate Finance Committee, called Taiwan an essential partner, but that no decisions had been made on membership.
“On the point of Taiwan, we are in general in conversations with those who are interested in joining this framework,” Tai said when asked by US Senator Bob Menendez if it would be invited to join the framework.
“Participation in the IPEF is still under consideration, and as far as I’m aware no decisions have been made,” said Tai, the US-born daughter of immigrants from Taiwan.
Menendez responded that Taiwan was a key strategic and trading partner intertwined with US economic security.
“I get a sense from that answer that we will not include Taiwan within the IPEF, which is missing an opportunity,” he said.
The exchange followed a letter released on Wednesday from 200 members of the US House of Representatives from both parties, including Republicans Michael McCaul, Liz Cheney and Elise Stefanik, and Democrats Ted Lieu (劉雲平), Ro Khanna and Elissa Slotkin, urging Tai and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to invite Taiwan to join IPEF.
“Taiwan’s inclusion would also send a clear signal that the United States stands with its allies and partners, and will not be bullied by the PRC,” the representatives said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
The letter was posted on the official Web site of US Representative Albio Sires, who also signed it.
Some analysts argue that Taiwan’s participation in the plan could make countries in the region hesitant to join for fear of angering Beijing, which opposes the idea as a tool for Washington to try to contain China’s rise.
Raimondo last week told members of the Senate Finance Committee that the administration was not contemplating Taiwan’s inclusion at this time, said two sources with knowledge of the closed-door meeting where she made the remark.
“I think it speaks to a broader issue that our trade agenda is sometimes just out of whack with our foreign policy agenda,” one of the sources said.
The US Department of Commerce referred a request for comment to the White House National Security Council, which also said no decisions had been made on membership.
Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Washington declined to comment on Raimondo’s remark, but a spokesman said: “Regarding IPEF, Taiwan continues to exchange views with the US through existing economic and trade mechanisms and channels.”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
RSS