The United States and Taiwan have concluded negotiations on a trade agreement to deepen economic ties amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. "This accomplishment represents an important step forward in strengthening the US-Taiwan economic relationship," US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said in a statement on Thursday. The US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade looks to boost trade by streamlining customs checks, improving regulatory procedures, and establishing anticorruption measures between the United States and the self-governing island of Taiwan, which China has long-claimed as part of its territory. While the United States and Taiwan do not have official diplomatic relations, they do maintain unofficial ties through the de facto US embassy in the country, the American Institute in Taiwan. Beijing has in recent years stepped up its threats and rhetoric against Taiwan, increasing military drills in the seas around the island and working t...
Comments