Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs on Thursday (Oct. 22) submitted a report to the Taiwan Executive Yuan on “U.S.-Taiwan Partnerships Under the Restructuring of Global Supply Chains,” further seeking to expand the scope of cooperation with the United States. The report includes mechanisms to prioritize U.S.-Taiwan cooperation in four strategic areas: semiconductors, communications and AI technologies, green energy and innovation, health care, and the development of global markets.
Taiwan media reported that the U.S.-Taiwan supply chain cooperation, if successfully implemented, will create more than $100 billion in value and 1 million jobs for the U.S., the world’s largest economy.
Taiwan Executive Yuan President Su Tseng-chang said in the Executive Yuan meeting the same day that it is mutually beneficial for the U.S. and Taiwan to initiate a bilateral trade agreement. Global trade is changing and supply chain restructuring has become an irreversible trend, which is the most favorable time for the U.S. and Taiwan to deepen cooperation.
So pointed out that Taiwan’s strength is semiconductors in the cutting-edge technology industry, and restructuring the supply chain with the U.S., combined with U.S. technology and R & D advantages, can create a worldwide marketing network. He said that TSMC’s plan to invest in a U.S.-Taiwan plant is an example of strategic cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Zheng-Qi added to the four strategies that Taiwan and U.S. network technology company Cisco are currently conducting 5G open network research. He said that Google and Amazon have set up R&D centers in Taiwan, which indicates that U.S.-Taiwan cooperation is not limited to manufacturing, but is being transformed into digital technology. As for health care, Chen said that U.S. pharmaceutical R&D capabilities complement Taiwan’s medical device manufacturing capabilities.
In terms of green energy and innovative industries, Chen said, Taiwan’s 2025 natural gas power generation is expected to account for 50%, and Taiwan has reduced imports of natural gas from the Middle East and increased imports from the United States.
Mr. Yang Chih-ching, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Industry, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan, also said that cooperation between Taiwanese manufacturing and U.S. technology is mutually beneficial. He believes that the reorganization of the U.S.-Taiwan supply chain can form a strategic marketing network that will help the U.S. and Taiwan jointly enter the Indo-Pacific market, facilitate the re-emergence of U.S. manufacturing, and solidify Taiwan’s key role in the supply chain.
When asked by the media why the U.S. Trade Representative is reluctant to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement with Taiwan, Chen Zhengqi said that Taiwan has the information that it is not ready to negotiate, not not with Taiwan. He said that the current moment is the best time for both sides, and Taiwan will push further.
Earlier, a cross-party half of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on October 1, encouraging him to begin the process of formally negotiating a “comprehensive trade agreement” with Taiwan. Taiwan’s representative office in the U.S. subsequently tweeted that it looks forward to continuing to work with the U.S. Congress to advance the U.S.-Taiwan partnership.
As early as last December, 161 cross-party members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Lighthizer expressing support for the U.S.-Taiwan bilateral trade agreement. Lighthizer replied that Taiwan’s restrictions on U.S. pork and beef imports were the main obstacle to the further development of U.S.-Taiwan trade relations.
However, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has made no move to negotiate a U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen announced in late August that restrictions on U.S. meat imports would be lifted.
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