First agreement under US-Taiwan trade initiative takes effect

Taipei, Dec 10 (EFE).- The first agreement signed under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, launched in 2022 with the aim of strengthening economic and trade relations between Taipei and Washington, took effect on Tuesday.

In a statement on Monday, United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced that the agreement, signed on June 1, 2023, would enter into force the following day.

The initiative includes commitments on anti-corruption, good regulatory practices, services domestic regulation, customs administration and trade facilitation, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

«We thank our Taiwan partners for helping us reach this important milestone. The entry into force of the first agreement under our 21st Century Trade Initiative represents an important step forward in strengthening the US-Taiwan economic and trade relationship,» Tai said.

The Taiwanese government’s Office of Trade Negotiations said that this agreement had «strategic indicator significance» for the island «to consolidate and expand its relationships with important economic and trade partners» in the current global context.

«At a time when the world is facing major geopolitical challenges such as supply chain shifts, the Ukraine-Russia war, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the entry into force of this agreement demonstrates the rock-solid partnership between Taiwan and the United State,» the agency said in a statement.

Taiwan and the US are currently negotiating a second agreement under the same trade initiative that addresses trade areas such as labor, the environment and agriculture, the US said in its statement.

Although the agreement that comes into force on Tuesday is far from being a free trade agreement, it has been described by Taipei as the most comprehensive trade pact between the two sides since Washington established diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1979.

The Chinese government had expressed its opposition to the signing of this partial trade agreement last year, arguing that it constituted a violation of the «one China» policy. EFE

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