Taiwan and the United States have started trade talks again after a five-year hiatus. Representatives from both sides held a virtual meeting on Wednesday under the aegis of a bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement signed in 1994.
This is the eleventh round of talks held under the aegis of the agreement. The most recent was held in 2016. The Trump administration then suspended talks in 2017, reportedly due to Taiwanese restrictions on imports of certain US agricultural products.
Wednesday’s meeting focused on eleven areas of bilateral economic ties: intellectual property, digital trade, medicine and medical supplies, streamlining bilateral trade, legal transparency, investment, supply chains, non-market economies, financial services, environmental protection, and workers’ rights.
In the area of supply chains, the two sides discussed increased cooperation and durability. One of Taiwan’s major exports, semiconductors, is among the goods the US government has previously listed as key goods.
Meanwhile, in the area of medicine and medical equipment, the two sides discussed simplifying import and export procedures for vaccines and other medical supplies.