Economics Minister John Deng, who is in the US on an official trip, says that Taiwan does not have much time to conclude trade agreements. These include bilateral agreements, multilateral agreements, and regional agreements.
Speaking on Thursday, Deng said that Taiwan has learned from the experience of cross-strait negotiations. He said that Taiwan’s government has learned that in the future, it will need to strike a balance between transparency and getting the best deal possible from negotiations.
Deng said that Taiwan hopes to see a meeting under the US-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement as soon as possible. However, he also said that the US is currently focusing its efforts on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and Taiwan will need to wait until the US side is ready to focus elsewhere.
Deng has met with a number of US officials and spoken at a number of Washington-based think tanks during his trip to the US. He said that he feels the US is supportive of Taiwan’s efforts to join the TPP. However, Deng said that US officials believe that Taiwan should also maintain close contact with the other 11 countries involved in TPP negotiations.