US, Taiwan to Begin ‘Economically Meaningful’ Trade Talks in Fall

The U.S. and Taiwan achieved consensus on a “negotiating mandate” to begin talks this fall toward reaching trade agreements with “high-standard commitments and economically meaningful outcomes,” said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Wednesday. The two sides will work toward reaching accords on nearly a dozen trade areas, including trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, anticorruption and digital trade, said USTR. The U.S.-Taiwan communique is sure to further anger China, especially with its language on thwarting “non-market policies and practices.” The U.S. and Taiwan “are market-oriented economies and understand the harm that can be caused by trade partners that deploy nonmarket policies and practices, which threaten livelihoods and can harm workers and businesses,” said the mandate. “The two sides will seek to adopt provisions that promote collaboration on ways to address these harmful non-market policies and practices.” There is "but one China in the world," responded a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Thursday. "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory," and China "is always against any country negotiating agreements of sovereign implication or official nature with China’s Taiwan region," he said. "We urge the U.S. not to miscalculate on this."