Bilateral Trade Agreement between the United States and Taiwan little chance as yet

25januari2006
Source: LBA actualiteiten
There is as yet little chance of a bilateral trade agreement between the United States and Taiwan.
Taipei’s not very helpful attitude during the agricultural negotiations are no stimulant for the US to approach Taiwan. One of the considerations in selecting trading partners would be a positive contribution in the Doha negotiations. Clearly, Taiwan does not meet this requirement. Apart from that, Taiwan still has several bilateral problems to solve. One of those is the Taiwanese import prohibition concerning American beef products. Ever since BSE was detected in the US in December 2003, the Taiwanese have kept the borders closed, even after it has been scientifically proved, according to the US, that the beef products are safe. A second issue is the telecommunication sector, which is still not privatised. The government doesn’t feel that the trade and industry is very interested in a bilateral trade agreement with Taiwan.
Both countries have, however, agreed that the negotiations for the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) will be resumed in spring 2006. Such an agreement is generally seen as a precursor of a bilateral free trade agreement.