TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Minister of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Wang Mei-hua (王美花) and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo held a virtual meeting on Tuesday (Dec.7), announcing the establishment of the Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration (TTIC) framework.
The TTIC framework aims to bolster bilateral trade, investment, and industrial cooperation while diversifying critical supply chains. The TTIC talks were conducted by senior officials and are a remarkable indicator of the economic and trade development between Taiwan and the U.S., according to the MOEA.
Raimondo stressed the U.S.’ support for Taiwan and the importance of the commercial and investment relationship between the two sides, adding that the U.S will continuously work with Taiwan in areas such as semiconductor supply chains and related ecosystems.
“Working together, we can build business connections and generate further investments which will ultimately create good-paying jobs, strengthen critical supply chains, and deepen our overall economic relationship,” Raimondo said.
Wang pointed out that the Taiwan-U.S. partnership on supply chains is long-term and reliable, especially on semiconductors, 5G, and electric cars and related components. She added that the TTIC framework can make the most of the advantages of both sides, expanding two-way investments as well as deepening bilateral economic and trade ties.
Wang emphasized that Taiwan hopes to build on cooperation with the U.S. to further develop third-country infrastructure projects and to assist Taiwanese businesses in participating in the Build Back Better Plan (BBB), which was proposed by U.S. President Joe Biden to accelerate the economic recovery.
Both sides have committed to holding the first meeting of the TTIC with bureau-level representatives attending in the coming months, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The online meeting was under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO).
The U.S. is the second-largest trade partner of Taiwan, while Taiwan is the U.S.' ninth-largest. Last year, total trade between the two sides was above US$83 billion (NT$2.3 trillion), according to the MOEA.
