U.S., Taiwan OK 1st Part Of "21st Century" Trade Deal

The US and Taiwan reached an agreement on the first part of their "21st Century" trade initiative, covering customs and border procedures, regulatory practices, and small business, the US Trade Representative (USTR) office said, David Lawder reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: The pact is not expected to alter goods tariffs, but proponents say it will strengthen economic bonds between the US and Taiwan, open the Chinese-claimed island to more US exports, and increase Taiwan's ability to resist economic coercion from China.

After the initial agreement of the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade is signed, negotiations will commence on other, more complicated trade areas including agriculture, digital trade, labor and environmental standards, state-owned enterprises, and non-market policies and practices, USTR said.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said that the deal strengthens US-Taiwan relations and demonstrates they can work together to advance trade priorities. "We look forward to continuing these negotiations and finalizing a robust and high-standard trade agreement that tackles 21st Century economic challenges," Tai said.

Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations in a statement called the agreement "historically significant" and said Taiwan aimed to finalize negotiations on all remaining issues by the end of the year.

The pact is not expected to alter goods tariffs, but proponents say it will strengthen economic bonds between the US and Taiwan, open the Chinese-claimed island to more US exports, and increase Taiwan's ability to resist economic coercion from China.

Democratically governed Taiwan strongly rejects China's sovereignty claims.

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