U.S. and Taiwan Discuss Broadening Bilateral Trade Under Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA)

PR-1061E | Date: 9/29/2010

On September 28 and 29, a delegation from the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the Department of Commerce and AIT Washington visited Taipei for meetings with the Taiwan Authorities to discuss the full range of economic issues of importance to both sides, including how to broaden and deepen the strong bilateral trade and economic relationship under the auspices of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

The delegation was led by Claire Reade, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs. This was her first visit to Taiwan since taking her current position earlier this year. Assistant USTR Reade reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Taiwan bilateral economic relationship.

During the visit, the two sides agreed to hold the next meeting of the TIFA Trade and Investment Council, which will be chaired on the U.S. side by Demetrios Marantis, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, and on the Taiwan side by Francis Liang, Vice Minister for Economic Affairs. The two sides are working to finalize mutually agreeable dates for the meeting, and are targeting late 2010 or early 2011.

The two sides began discussions about the agenda for the TIFA, and agreed to have follow-up expert-level discussions on a range of issues and initiatives in the months leading up to the TIFA Trade and Investment Council meeting.