A bipartisan group of US senators has written a letter to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai calling for her to prepare for a free trade agreement with Taiwan.
The group of more than 40 senators sent the letter before Taiwan and the US resumed trade negotiations Wednesday after a five year hiatus.
In the letter, the senators write that US-Taiwan trade talks are of high strategic importance because they maintain US economic influence in the surrounding region and lower Taiwan’s reliance on China. The senators say that trade talks with Taiwan are necessary to ensure an open and free Indo-Pacific region.
The senators write that Taiwan’s lifting of restrictions on imports of US beef and pork products last year removed a major obstacle to free trade agreement discussions, and that now, the time has come for the US to respond by opening such discussions.
In addition, the senators note Taiwan’s importance as a trade partner for the US. Taiwan is the United States’ tenth largest trading partner and its eight biggest export market. They also write that Taiwan has high standards when it comes to labor rights and environmental protections, and that Taiwan is a true, democratic friend to the US.