Public Statement Ustr Senior Advisor for Taiwan David Burns AIT-TECRO Trade Consultations November 17, 2000 Taipei, Taiwan (as Prepared for Delivery)

PR0058E | Date: 2000-11-17

The U.S. delegation appreciated the opportunity to review trade issues with the Taiwan authorities.

In the course of our thoughtful and productive talks, we discussed a number of areas of concern for the United States.

One primary concern of the U.S. Trade Representative is full and fair access to the Taiwan telecom market for American firms. Full access for our firms will mean much lower costs for Internet access for the people of Taiwan. This is very important in the Internet age.

A second concern of these negotiations is the protection of intellectual property rights. Taiwan is now the world's largest producer of disc recordings and software - optical media. Our delegation urged the Taiwan authorities to propose new legislation to protect the intellectual property rights of the creators of optical media.

Finally, we discussed the United States' concerns over Taiwan's government procurement practices. We welcomed the decision by the Taiwan authorities to significantly improve their government procurement procedures in advance of accession to the Government Procurement Agreement of the World Trade Organization.

Our delegation appreciates this opportunity to have meaningful discussions with the Taiwan trade authorities. Trade between the United States and Taiwan is an important element of our strong, close relationship. We look forward to continuing to work closely together in advance of Taiwan's accession to the WTO.

Thank you very much.