TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai and Taiwan's top trade negotiator, Minister-without-Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中), held a teleconference on Monday (April 18) to discuss how Taiwan can participate in regional and multilateral forums.

It remains unclear whether the two officials spoke about Taiwan joining the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) specifically, according to CNA.

Tai and Deng reviewed the progress of bilateral trade issues since the 11th Taiwan-U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meeting held in June last year, according to minutes of the teleconference released by the USTR. They also covered areas of mutual interest such as cooperation within multilateral organizations like the World Trade Organization, with the two officials agreeing to continue their dialogue on these issues over the coming months.

Last month, a delegation from the Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce of North America (TCCNA) made a trip to Washington, D.C., to lobby for U.S. support to include Taiwan in the IPEF, among other economic frameworks. Coinciding with the trip was a letter signed by 200 members of the U.S. House of Representatives that called on the Biden administration to bring Taiwan into the IPEF club.