US Forms Separate Economic Partnership with Taiwan Excluded from IPEF

Sarah Bianki, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The United States is seeking separate economic cooperation measures with Taiwan, which was excluded from the recently launched Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

Sarah Bianchi, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and Deng Jianzhong, Representative of Taiwan's Economic and Trade Negotiation Office, held a virtual meeting on the 1st and decided to launch the "U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade," according to major foreign media reports on the same day. The two sides are expected to hold the first meeting related to the new initiative in the U.S. at the end of this month.

IPEF was launched on the 23rd of last month while U.S. President Joe Biden was on a tour of Japan. IPEF includes 13 Indo-Pacific countries such as the U.S. and South Korea to curb China's economic influence, but Taiwan was excluded.

Taiwan expressed its intention to join IPEF, and more than 200 members of the U.S. Congress, including 52 senators, urged Taiwan's inclusion, but Taiwan was excluded from IPEF. This has been interpreted as reflecting the U.S. judgment that if Taiwan joins IPEF, other countries might hesitate to participate due to concerns about China's backlash.

The U.S. and Taiwan are expected to discuss topics very similar to those presented in IPEF, such as anti-corruption, digital trade standards, labor rights, environmental standards, and non-market access practices in the new initiative.

The U.S. is also expected to strengthen military cooperation with Taiwan. Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense, who is about to embark on an Asia tour to attend the Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) held in Singapore from the 10th to the 12th, said in an interview with Japan's Nihon Keizai on the same day that the threat from China is increasing and that the U.S. will expand arms support and training for Taiwan. Austin emphasized integrated deterrence through cooperation with allies and expressed expectations for an expanded role for Japan, according to Nihon Keizai.

Secretary Austin is scheduled to deliver a speech on a comprehensive defense strategy in the Indo-Pacific region at the Shangri-La Dialogue. Nihon Keizai reported that there is a high possibility that Austin will hold his first meeting with Wei Fenghe, China's Minister of National Defense, at the Shangri-La Dialogue.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.