TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The U.S. and Taiwan on Tuesday (June 27) held its first Taiwan-U.S. 21st Century Trade Initiative meeting.
Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi, and John Deng (鄧振中), the Cabinet’s Office of Trade Negotiations chief negotiator, started work on deepening U.S.-Taiwan economic and trade relations and promoting innovation, according to a U.S. Trade Representative press release. The pair will also deliberate over a “roadmap” to achieve deals with “high-standard commitments and economically meaningful outcomes.”
The commitments will cover areas such as trade facilitation, regulatory practices, agriculture, anti-corruption, small- and medium-sized enterprises, digital trade, labor, environment, standards, state-owned enterprises, and non-market policies and practices, per the press release.
Bianchi and Deng also held roundtable conversations with groups of U.S. and Taiwan stakeholders. They shared their views on how the two nations can enhance trade policies that will benefit workers and businesses and “promote inclusive, fair, and responsible growth in a way that benefits both of their economies.”
Bianchi and Deng agreed to hold additional conversations in the future. The meeting was held physically in Washington D.C., but Deng attended virtually due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
Taiwan and the U.S. jointly launched the 21st Century Trade Initiative on June 1.
