Taiwanese and American officials will hold talks on the Taiwan-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in October. That was the word from Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng on Wednesday.
The meeting was originally scheduled for April, but was postponed due to negotiations related to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other economic issues. Deng spoke on Wednesday about the upcoming talks.
"[The talks] will definitely happen in October. We will have TIFA talks with the US side. This is a regular annual meeting. Of course, we will discuss problems and issues of concern to the US," said Deng. "As in any negotiations, both sides will have their own views. Our officials will evaluate and discuss the current situation. There are many issues to deal with. The TPP is of course something very important which we want very much and which will be on our agenda."
Robert Wang of the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies said that the US Trade Representative sent officials to Taiwan in August to discuss the agenda for the upcoming meeting.
Wang said agricultural products have been an issue for some time. The US expects Taiwan to use scientific evidence as a basis for policy on US agricultural imports. Bans on imports of certain US beef products have been one particularly contentious issue in recent US-Taiwan trade relations.
Wang said that the US supports Taiwan’s aspirations to join the TPP. He said that Taiwan should promote domestic reform and free markets to meet the TPP's standards.