Taiwan’s chief trade negotiator, Minister Without Portfolio Jenni Yang (楊珍妮), on Thursday said that the nation would continue advancing a trade deal with the US under the incoming administration of US president-elect Donald Trump.
Taiwan remains optimistic about furthering the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, despite a pause in negotiations due to the transition to the new administration, Yang told reporters at the APEC summit in Lima.
Taiwan is preparing to review regulations before entering a new round of negotiations, which would cover issues including agriculture, labor and the environment, she said.
Photo: CNA
“These issues are inherently difficult to negotiate,” she said, adding that hopefully Trump’s administration would continue discussions on the second phase of talks following the signing of the first agreement by both sides in June last year.
The initial agreement, expected to take effect by the end of this year, includes customs administration and trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, policies to combat corruption, and promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises.
However, concerns have arisen regarding Taiwan’s trade relationship with the US after Trump, whose rhetoric suggests opposition to global trade, won the US presidential election on Nov. 5.
Yang, who is part of Taiwan’s APEC delegation, met with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) on the sidelines of the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Wednesday.
A statement issued by Tai’s office said that both sides highlighted the importance of economic and trade ties during the meeting.
Yang and Tai also discussed progress made through the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, as well as their work together at the APEC forum and other multilateral organizations, including the WTO, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s envoy to APEC, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks in Lima on Thursday ahead of the bloc’s Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
Lin arrived in the Peruvian capital on Wednesday with the Taiwanese delegation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The two discussed ways to continue improving the bilateral partnership, and ensuring regional peace and stability, while exchanging views on issues such as promoting the development of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the region, the ministry said.
Blinken posted a photograph of the two shaking hands on social media and wrote that their talks touched upon “our growing economic relationship and our enduring shared commitment to foster an open, dynamic and peaceful Indo-Pacific.”
Lin — chairman of Taiwania Capital Management Corp (台杉投資管理), a government-funded venture capital firm, and a senior adviser to President William Lai (賴清德) — was to take part in the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting yesterday and today as Taiwan’s envoy, a role he has had before.
The meeting was expected to be attended by US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, among other heads of government.
APEC is one of the few inter-governmental pacts in which Taiwan has full membership, but it still sends special envoys in place of its president to the annual event due to pressure from China.
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.
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