TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (AmCham) at a press conference for the release of its 2021 Taiwan White Paper on Wednesday (June 23) introduced the Taiwan Commercial Initiative (TCI), which aims to achieve a Taiwan-U.S. bilateral trade agreement (BTA), per AmCham.

In the white paper, the section called Messages to Washington outlines the TCI as a six-track, strategic approach to enhancing economic and business ties between the two sides. The section was specifically emphasized by AmCham Taiwan Chairperson CW Chin (金奇偉) and the organization’s president, Andrew Wylegala.

The first TCI track is the bilateral Trade & Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). The two sides had already announced the imminent restart of TIFA talks, which had been suspended for five years

The second track will include business participation in the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue (EPPD) initiated by the U.S. Department of State last November.

Through the development of transaction-oriented, public-private platforms convoked by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, as well as with the additional help of double taxation agreements (DTA) and plurilateral economic talks, the two nations intend to work towards a BTA, which is the final goal of the TCI, according to AmCham.

The boosted participation of the private sector and other platforms in U.S.-Taiwan economic relations has also being urged by the American business group, according to Wylegala.

The paper has also highlighted several pressing and influential issues for domestic and international enterprises, including accelerating Taiwan’s digital transformation, strengthening supply chains, and urging the government to ensure a stable energy supply as it proceeds toward an energy transition by 2025.

In addition, the paper offers suggestions to the Taiwan government related to its aims of achieving bilingual status by 2030, its establishment of a sovereign wealth fund, and how to improve its international profile for business.

The organization lauded Taiwan's economic performance in 2020 as well as its generous donations to the rest of the world during the pandemic. Amcham also appealed to Washington for more vaccine doses for the East Asian nation.

Chin talked positively about the potential for growth in Taiwan’s economic links to the rest of the world in the coming years. He expected the "biggest and most positive transformation" since the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979 or Taiwan's entry into the World Trade Organization in 2002. "AmCham is eager to play its part,” he added.