US and Taiwan Forge Stronger Ties through Trade Agreement Amid China's Opposition

The United States strengthened its tie with Taiwan after successfully completing stage one of its trade initiative with them less than a year after negotiations began. The US-Taiwan Initiative of 21st Century Trade - unveiled by President Joe Biden last year - marks their first official trade accord since he assumed office.

Image by tingyaoh from Pixabay

Key aspects covered under this online deal include provisions facilitating smoother trades; regulations governing goods/services; support for start-ups & entrepreneurs alike; increased transparency protecting against corruption; and many more. It's worth noting that tariffs are not included. Nevertheless, trade Representative Katherine Tai sees this as a "critical development" in deepening Washington-Taipei ties.

Currently, negotiations are ongoing for an additional seven areas including agriculture, labor, and environment Standards. This signing ceremony expected to occur shortly represents a tremendous outcome for Taiwan by officially excluding them from Trump's Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). While 14 other member states of the IPEF such as Japan and Singapore combat corruption throughout the global supply chain - this deal emphasizes transparency amongst businesses within Taiwan.

Kristy Hsu voices her admiration for the impact that this agreement has on business environments for individuals operating on both ends in addition to specific areas including anti-corruption measures, and trade agreements supporting small/medium-sized enterprises.

By promoting clean energy and efficiently expanding supply chain policies worldwide no doubt the well-being of both will result in emerging market countries that may benefit Taiwanese industries. Taiwan has secured another notable achievement through transparency and trade facilitation initiatives leading to improved standing internationally according to Hsu.

As an economy ranked 21st globally with almost 24 million people, it plays an essential part across global supply chains, especially thanks to its leading role in semiconductors' production which serves as critical components utilized in almost all devices rendered technological innovation these days. 

Transmitting grandeur comparable only to TSMC (the World's largest contract manufacturer of semiconductor chips) responsible for building products designed by tech giants like Apple, Nvidia, or Qualcomm among others, and constituting a whopping 90% of the world's super-advanced chips, it's truly incredible how much TSMC has accomplished.

Taiwan is under constant threat from China over sovereignty-related issues so significant emphasis on fostering deeper US-Taiwan trade relationships and support is being given presently. Despite an increased focus on defense, more attention towards effective mechanisms like trade agreements to raise Taiwan's profile internationally could be beneficial as well, something J Michael Cole senior adviser at International Republican Institute concurs with. He feels that other nations are likely to follow suit in supporting Taiwan, seeing the US' lead.

Hsu believes streamlining trade rules will result in improved customs familiarity leading to greater efficacy in clearing customs saving time and money for exporters.

The agreement may present possibilities for Taiwan to be able to join CPTPP- initiated very recently. Taiwan has taken steps to apply for CPTPP membership in 2021 which is presently under review. However, certain members within CPTPP may be hesitant about accepting Taiwan with some degree of worry due to sensitivities with Beijing.

One possible way to improve Taiwan's approval prospects is via expanding agreements extended from other partnerships such as the US-Taiwan deal that overlaps multiple chapters within CPTPP.

China provides significant opposition against this latest deal negotiation, just as it did at an earlier time; consequently, strategizing for mutual success on remaining unresolved problems surrounding this trade plan encounters notable obstacles according to analysts' forecasts. As such, serious and possibly emotive decisions will need to be made by all parties involved concerning various issues before Taiwan can become an official member of CPTPP.

To summarize the whole scenario, a poignant example of how powerful developments can make their way into Taiwanese societal discourse appears in how opponents demonstrated outrage at a proposed relaxation last year in restrictions over pork imports—a factor that overshadowed other trade discussions lasting until mid-November 2020; however, as political pressure increased towards acknowledging American pork within their market despite concerns expressed regarding ractopamine's human health impact arising from using animal feed additives imported from the US, ultimately voters supported legalizing importing pork anyway.

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post