US and Taiwan Sign First Official Trade Agreement... China Says It Violates "One China Principle"

First Agreement Signed After 'Trade Initiative' Announcement
US Expects Tariff Simplification and Improved Market Access

The United States and Taiwan are set to sign a trade agreement for the first time since announcing the "U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade" (hereinafter referred to as the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative) last year. The Chinese government, seeking to formalize its relationship with Taiwan, immediately expressed strong opposition and vehemently protested.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Taiwan's Central News Agency on the 1st, on the morning of that day in Washington DC local time, Ingrid Larson, Executive Director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan, and Hsiao Mei-chin, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, are scheduled to sign the first agreement under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative. The signing ceremony will take place under the watch of Sarah Bianchi, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and Deng Zhengzhong, Representative of Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN).

Catherine Tai, USTR Representative, stated in a press release on the 18th of last month that as the first concrete outcome of the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative, they agreed to strengthen trade relations with Taiwan and predicted that the agreement would be signed within weeks.

Until now, the U.S. has excluded Taiwan from the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" (IPEF), which includes 13 countries in the Indo-Pacific region, and has sought economic cooperation with Taiwan through a separate channel via the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative. Although it does not address issues such as tariffs and is not a formal Free Trade Agreement (FTA), it reflects the U.S.'s intention to strengthen trade relations with Taiwan.

Through this agreement, the U.S. expects to eliminate formalities and facilitate border-related procedures by simplifying tariff processes, improving regulations, and shortening logistics times, enabling American companies to access the Taiwanese market quickly and at lower costs.

China has expressed strong opposition to the U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement. At a regular briefing of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the afternoon of the 1st (China local time), spokesperson Mao Ning stated firm opposition to any of China's diplomatic partners signing official agreements with Taiwan, criticizing the U.S. for violating the "One China" principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques (including the diplomatic communique).

Regarding Taiwan, Mao warned that the Democratic Progressive Party authorities' attempt to seek independence by relying on the U.S. under the banner of economic and trade cooperation would be futile.

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