Despite a general lack of appetite for new free trade agreements, there appears to be a high level of support in Congress for a deal with Taiwan. In the fall of 2020, a bipartisan group of fifty senators signed a letter urging the U.S. senators at the time. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer begins work on a comprehensive trade deal with Taiwan. This followed a similar bipartisan letter signed in 2019 by 161 members of the House of Representatives and the unanimous passage of the Taiwan International Initiative for the Protection and Strengthening (TAIPEI) Act in 2020, which called on the USTR to further strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations with Taiwan. Taiwan recently extended its probationary period of visa-free privileges for Thai nationals by one year. Your predecessor stressed last year that there is a possibility of reciprocal action. What is the latest development? An interactive list of bilateral and multilateral free trade instruments is available on the TREND-Analytics website. [59] List of agreements under negotiation. Agreements that have so far only been discussed without formal action by the parties concerned are not listed. The lack of free trade agreements (FTAs) between Taiwan and several Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, was seen as a challenge to President Tsai Ing-wen`s (蔡英文) new Southern policy. What do you think could be done to facilitate the signing of a free trade agreement between Taiwan and Thailand? A trade deal between the U.S. and Taiwan would increase the island`s economic and national security while further opening up an important market for U.S.
exports. This would signal support for an important partner and underscore U.S. interest in stability across the Strait. The time has come for an ambitious trade agenda between the United States and Taiwan. Taiwan is the ninth largest trading partner of the United States and the seventh largest destination for agricultural exports, with total goods trade of $90 billion in 2020. Trade with Taiwan supports more than two hundred thousand jobs in the United States. Taiwan also occupies a central position in global technology supply chains, especially semiconductors. The United States trades more with Taiwan than with India, France or Italy. Beyond trade, Taiwan is a key partner on regional and global issues, working with the United States in everything from climate change and global health to anti-corruption, women`s empowerment, sustainable development and counter-terrorism.
EFTA[17] has concluded bilateral agreements with the following countries – including dependent territories – and blocs: this is a list of free trade agreements between two parties, where each party could be a country (or other customs territory), a trading bloc or an informal group of countries. Chasawath: A lot of people have asked me about this, but we have our thoughts. To be honest, Taiwan also benefits from its measure to grant visa-free entry to Thai citizens. The same goes for Thailand: we offer visa-free privileges to more than 70 countries, while our own people enjoy visa-free entry to just over 30 countries, but we don`t make any noise about it. Turkey has bilateral and multilateral agreements with: Note: Every customs union, every common market, every economic union, every customs and monetary union and the economic and monetary union are also a free trade area. This strong cross-party support reflects the appreciation of Taiwan`s constructive role on regional and global issues and the recognition that Taiwan`s continued security is essential to regional stability in the Asia-Pacific region. As China`s military strength and self-confidence increase, the United States must find additional ways to further deter Chinese adventurism. In addition to the economic benefits of a trade deal, this development would also send a strong signal to China about the importance the United States attaches to its relationship with Taiwan and boost Taiwan`s confidence, allowing Taipei to approach the mainland from a position of strength. Afghanistan has bilateral agreements with the following countries and blocs:[1] China`s strategy for Taiwan is to use a number of tools to bring Taiwan`s twenty-four million people to the conclusion that their only viable future is to join China.
In the economic sphere, it has restricted tourism to Taiwan, banned the import of Taiwanese pineapples and, above all, attempted to marginalize Taiwan in international trade. Although Taiwan is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), it is not a member of the two largest regional trade groups, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which includes Canada, Japan, Mexico and eight other countries, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), to which China belongs. Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Taiwan is excluded mainly because its members fear Chinese retaliation. Taiwan has only two free trade agreements with countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the island – agreements with Singapore and New Zealand – and China has pressured other countries not to enter into trade agreements with Taiwan. This is despite the fact that China signed a Framework Economic Cooperation Agreement (FCA) with Taiwan in 2010, which significantly reduced tariffs and trade barriers. There is a well-founded fear that taiwan`s economy will lag behind without the opportunity to participate in trade liberalization, which would increase China`s influence on the island. However, a trade deal between the U.S.
and Taiwan could provide other countries with political cover to begin their own negotiations with Taipei. The United States and Taiwan signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in 1994, which allows officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to meet with their Taiwanese counterparts to discuss and hopefully resolve irritations over bilateral trade and investment. Since 2007, trade relations have failed to overcome Taiwan`s obstacles to U.S. agricultural exports. The biggest stumbling block was the ban on Taiwan`s import into the United States. Pork and beef because they often contain ractopamine, an additive (currently also banned in the European Union and China) that promotes thinness. To signal its dissatisfaction with Taiwan`s position, the USTR suspended the TIFA talks and resumed them from 2013 to 2016 (after Taiwan allowed some imports of beef with ractopamine) before the Trump administration suspended them again in 2017. You must have made this decision after realizing the potential benefits. If so, why would Thailand offer mutual treatment? Why [say] that visa-free travel could be lifted next year if we don`t? If you cancel it, the number of Thai tourists to Taiwan could drop by 150,000.
Another thing I would like to point out is that granting visa-free privileges will inevitably have certain disadvantages, such as illegal immigrants and undocumented workers. However, these represent only a fraction of the whole, and we should avoid abandoning the entire forest for a single tree. The People`s Republic of China has bilateral trade agreements with the following blocs, countries and their two special administrative regions:[13] The Eurasian Economic Union, consisting of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, has the following free trade agreements, see below here. Use the drop-down menu to search by agreement by country group, agreement type, or status. You can also use the filter option to search for keywords. While the resumption of TIFA negotiations is a positive step, it is unlikely that this dialogue alone will generate enough momentum towards a trade agreement. The time has come to be more ambitious. President Tsai still has three years in her second term, and since she does not have to run again, she is able to spend political capital to strike a trade deal with the United States. .