Taiwan Seeks to Start Free-Trade Talks With U.S. -- Update 1
August 12 2020 - 2:04PM
Dow Jones News
By Chun Han Wong
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said she wants to start talks
on a free-trade pact with the U.S., part of a broad effort to
deepen her island democracy's partnership with Washington and
resist pressure from Beijing.
In an online speech aired Wednesday, Ms. Tsai said starting
trade negotiations are among her second-term priorities in
strengthening relations with the U.S., a major trading partner and
key arms supplier for Taiwan.
Ms. Tsai didn't set a time frame for the talks. Progress toward
formal free-trade negotiations have been stalled for roughly two
decades over disagreements that include Taiwanese policy on
additives used in the production of American pork and beef.
"We must be clear-eyed on how we can move forward" on a
free-trade deal, she warned, while signaling a willingness to
overcome the differences.
"For too long, closer trade relations have been hindered by
technicalities that account for just a fraction of two-way trade,"
Ms. Tsai said in her comments, delivered to an online forum
organized by two Washington think tanks, the Hudson Institute and
the Center for American Progress.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn't immediately
respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. is Taiwan's second-largest trading partner, with
two-way trade in goods and services amounting to about $94.5
billion in 2018, according to U.S. government data. Some U.S. and
Taiwanese politicians and policy experts have advocated for a
bilateral free-trade pact, which they say would help strengthen
Taipei's ability to counter economic pressure from China, Taiwan's
largest trading partner.
China's ruling Communist Party, which has never governed Taiwan
but claims the island as its territory, has used its economic clout
and global influence to squeeze Ms. Tsai's government and isolate
Taipei diplomatically since Ms. Tsai first took office in 2016. The
pressure has grown in recent years as Chinese leader Xi Jinping
moves to exert more control over his country's periphery.
The U.S. National Security Council and the State Department have
been pressing for free-trade talks with Taiwan as a way to add
pressure on Beijing amid escalating U.S.-China tensions over issues
spanning trade, technological competition and global influence.
Trump administration officials say U.S. Trade Representative
Robert Lighthizer has so far stymied the idea, due to his
objections to what he considers Taiwan's protectionist policies
that block imports of American beef and pork over the presence of
the additive ractopamine, a meat-leanness enhancer used by some
U.S. meat producers.
"We still face longstanding trade barriers that restrict market
access for U.S. beef and pork products, despite previous
commitments by Taiwan to fix these problems," Mr. Lighthizer wrote
recently to Sen. John Cornyn (R, Texas). "Resolving these issues
will be critical to deepening our trade and investment relationship
with Taiwan."
Taiwan first imposed curbs on American beef in December 2003
after the discovery of a case of mad-cow disease in the U.S. The
restrictions were later eased but Taipei subsequently banned meat
imports containing ractopamine.
Most countries have concerns about ractopamine, which is common
on U.S. farms, and has been a sticking point in other trade talks
as well. China and the European Union are among U.S. trading
partners with bans on the additive. Studies show that ractopamine
can cause stiffness, lameness and death among animals. Countries
also disagree about how much of the additive is safe for human
consumption.
In 2012, Taiwan's legislature passed a bill to allow beef
imports with trace amounts of ractopamine, but proposals to ease
the island's zero-tolerance policy on the additive in other meat
products -- like pork -- faced vocal opposition from civic groups
and the local pig-farming industry.
Ms. Tsai didn't refer explicitly to disagreements over U.S. meat
imports, but appeared to suggest that compromises could be found on
that front. "We want to work together to resolve these issues in a
way that is safe for our consumers and also consistent with
established scientific standards," she said.
"I believe that the people of Taiwan can see the value and
wisdom in building closer economic relations with the U.S.," Ms.
Tsai said. "And conversely we hope that the U.S. recognizes the
broader strategic implications such an agreement would undoubtedly
have."
--Bob Davis and Josh Zumbrun contributed to this article.
Write to Chun Han Wong at chunhan.wong@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 12, 2020 13:49 ET (17:49 GMT)
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