The Foreign Ministry has announced that the first part of the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade will be signed in Washington DC at 10AM local time.
The deal, known as the “first agreement” includes provisions for improving trade in high-tech, domestic regulations, small-to-medium sized enterprises, environmental standards, and addressing non-market policies. It does net yet include the most sensitive issues such as tariffs, but the Foreign Ministry says the two sides have agreed to hold their first consultations on the new initiative in June.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Lin Tze-Luen (林子倫) said at a press conference on Thursday that the government has been transparent about its negotiations. He states that the government has actively engaged with civil society groups, and made the text of the agreement available to the public weeks before the signing. He adds that the first agreement has great historical significance, and that the government will continue to move forward on a comprehensive trade deal with the United States.
The day before the announcement, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) criticized the deal and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). TAO spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) says the deal simply gives the U.S. everything it wants, and that the DPP has betrayed Taiwan.