The Taiwan-USA Trade Agreement’s Second Phase Negotiations Wrap Up Successfully
The Taiwan Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations announced today that the second phase of negotiations for the Taiwan-USA trade agreement came to a successful conclusion, with extensive discussions on agriculture, labor, and environmental chapters.
According to a press release from the Taiwan Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations, the second round of negotiations under the Taiwan-USA 21st Century Trade Initiative Agreement concluded this afternoon after five days of meetings. Representatives from both sides engaged in lengthy marathon-style meetings and held a stakeholders’ dialogue.
Chief negotiator for the meeting and Deputy Head of the Taiwan Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations, expressed that this phase of negotiations focused on environmental, labor, and agricultural issues. Both parties had thorough discussions on the text content and gained a better understanding of each other’s legal systems and administrative measures. The meeting was fruitful and is expected to greatly benefit future negotiations.
On environmental issues, discussions revolved around how to deepen cooperation on trade and environmental matters. This includes promoting green businesses, green employment, and economic decarbonization. The parties also discussed sharing trade and environment-related information and jointly promoting natural resource conservation to address pressing environmental challenges.
Regarding labor issues, discussions centered on promoting internationally recognized labor rights, such as eliminating forced labor in global supply chains, and the role and responsibilities of businesses in safeguarding labor rights. Taiwan and the USA will also collaborate to develop more inclusive trade policies, create more opportunities, promote gender equality, and demonstrate that trade can be a positive force for good.
In terms of agricultural issues, discussions focused on seeking regulations that can promote agricultural trade through scientific, risk-based decision-making, transparent regulations, and other means. Additionally, Taiwan and the USA explored cooperation mechanisms to enhance food security and innovative production practices, aiming to improve agricultural productivity, reduce land, water, and fuel usage, and contribute to climate adaptation and resilience.
Apart from the official delegation from the USA participating in the meeting, congressional staff from both the House and Senate committees independently formed a bipartisan observation group. Members of these groups came from the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee to exchange opinions with the Taiwan Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations during their visit.
The meeting concluded with a stakeholder dialogue jointly conducted by Taiwan and the USA, where representatives from more than twenty organizations expressed their views, providing constructive perspectives for the Taiwan-USA trade agreement.
The Taiwan Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations emphasized that the physical meeting was intensive and busy. They expressed gratitude to the various ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Environmental Protection Administration, and the Ocean Affairs Council for their participation and assistance. Subsequently, they will continue to hold working-level meetings with various ministries of the Executive Yuan and the USA to achieve more consensus, enhance national interests, and strive to complete the second phase of negotiations.