An interagency delegation headed by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis will visit Taiwan March 11-12 to resume talks under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, according to the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the trip, the two sides will explore ways to expand and deepen bilateral economic cooperation in the seventh round of TIFA talks, the MOFA said.
The U.S. team, which also includes officials from the Departments of State, Commerce and Agriculture, as well as the American Institute in Taiwan, will also call on high-ranking government officials and visit members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei.
The TIFA was inked by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office and AIT in 1994.
“TIFA is an important mechanism for trade talks between the two countries,” the MOFA said, adding that it welcomes the resumption of the talks after a six-year hiatus due to controversy over imported U.S. beef. “We expect the two sides to increase collaboration on trade issues that are mutually beneficial under the TIFA, further strengthening bilateral economic ties.”
The MOFA pointed out that the U.S. is Taiwan’s third largest trading partner, while Taiwan is its 11th. Washington is also Taipei’s largest source of foreign investment, it said, indicating close and friendly trade relations between the two sides.
In recent years the U.S. has dispatched several senior administrative officials to Taiwan, including Jose W. Fernandez, U.S. assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, Francisco Sanchez, undersecretary for international trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Atul Keshap, senior U.S. official for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the ministry noted.
“Marantis’ visit once again demonstrates the solid ROC-U.S. partnership,” the MOFA said. (THN)
Write to Grace Kuo at mlkuo@mofa.gov.tw