US, Taiwan could hold talks on ramping up trade and economic ties 'in few weeks': Report

The United States and Taiwan could begin the talks over deepening trade and economic ties “in a few weeks”, revealed two senior Taiwanese government officials to CNN on Friday. As per the report, the officials have said that the fresh discussions between both the countries will “explore concrete ways to deepen the US-Taiwan trade and investment relationship” while focussing on institutionalising cooperation in the supply chain, resilience, labour, environment and sustainable development. 

A senior official also said that a formal announcement will come after “coordination and consultations are made”. Additionally, a senior official told the US media outlet on Friday that Taiwan may send a delegation to participate in the SelectUSA Investment summit in Maryland in June. This summit would facilitate overseas business investment into the US. However, it is to note that Taiwan was excluded from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which is a regional economic plan unveiled by US President Joe Biden during his visit to Tokyo earlier this week. 

As per the report, IPEF is the US President's attempt at engaging a region which is appearing to come under China’s influence. The framework is not a trade agreement but it includes one “pillar” related to trade. It also incorporates other areas like making supply chains more resilient, promoting clean energy and combating corruption. IPEF participating nations include Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, alongside the United States.

Experts on Taiwan’s exclusion from IPEF

While announcing the plan, Biden had said, “The future of the 21st Century economy is going to be largely written in the Indo-Pacific, our region.” Taiwan was excluded from the framework despite the island nation voicing its desire to be a part of the same. According to some experts, the US kept Taiwan out of IPEF due to some members’ wish to not stoke tensions with China which considers the self-ruled island nation as its own ‘breakaway province’. 

Roy Lee, a deputy executive director at Taiwan's Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research, told the media outlet, “Many countries expressed a desire to downplay the US-China confrontation in the IPEF, and that is the main reason why Taiwan was not invited to attend the launch ceremony…Some countries pointed out that Taiwan's inclusion would boost [the IPEF's] efficiency, but there were also worries that China would view these countries as choosing a side.”

Image: AP