Taiwanese and US representatives yesterday wrapped up the latest round of in-person trade talks in Taipei, but did not succeed in inking any agreements, Minister Without Portfolio and top negotiator John Deng (鄧振中) told a media briefing.
“The two sides gained better understanding of bilateral rules and differences on issues regarding labor rights protection, trading of agricultural products and environment protection,” Deng said.
The two sides needed more time to clarify details before working out a pact in line with the second phase of the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, Deng said.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan is seeking access to the US market for its mangoes and pineapples, as well as pork floss and sausage, Deng said.
There is a great need of new export destinations for these two fruits due to pressure from China, he said.
“Exports of agricultural products require complicated and longstanding negotiations… It took a decade for Taiwan’s guava to enter the US market,” he said.
Washington is pushing for relaxed regulations for its pork imports, an issue Taiwan prefers not to address until after the political transition on May 20 given its controversial nature, Deng said.
Taiwan’s mangoes and pineapples do not raise any food safety concerns, while Taiwanese are concerned about US pork products with ractopamine, the official said.
US negotiators believe Taiwan holds unnecessarily high standards regarding pork products, he said.
Labor protection dominates the trade talks and the two sides agree that flows of products made by forced labor must be stopped and they should be removed from shelves, Deng said.
The US is highly sensitive about products allegedly made by prisoners abroad.
Taiwan agrees with the US regarding the need to ban such products, but the nation would need more legal experts and inspectors to detect human rights violations, Deng said.
The US delegates consisted of more than 20 trade negotiators and observers from the US Congress, as the matter involves administrative and lawmaking processes, Deng said.
The two sides also reached an agreement on the importance of transparency and public participation in environmental protection so that public support can be gained for initiatives regarding the issue, Deng said.
In the past, such bilateral talks were held privately and caused public distrust or protests from civic groups, he said.
The five-day talks did not touch on the energy mix issue, but both sides agreed that they should make efforts to reduce carbon emissions, Deng said.
Washington is fully aware that there will be power transition in Taiwan later this month, but pressed ahead with the talks in part to show its respect and recognition of policy continuity, Deng said.
The two sides are to conduct more video conferences, he added.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
RSS