ROC welcomes positive US statement on Taiwan’s interest in TPP

Kin Moy, US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said 14 March in Washington that the US welcomes Taiwan’s interest in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs is "gratified by and welcomes" Moy’s remarks, which came in both oral and written testimony at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on 'The Promise of the Taiwan Relations Act'.

“We are considering Taiwan’s interest in restarting exploratory talks for a Bilateral Investment Agreement, and we welcome Taiwan’s interest in the TPP,” Moy said in his written statement to the committee. He reiterated the welcome in a response to a question from Chairman Ed Royce.

“Taiwan was the United States’ 12th-largest trading partner in 2013,” he noted in his written testimony. The two sides resumed talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) last March, and through this platform “have been able to address and resolve U.S. and Taiwan trade and investment concerns,” he said, adding that issues discussed by the Investment Working Group have included a Bilateral Investment Agreement.

According to his written statement, the U.S. is also “engaging with Taiwan on the sets of economic liberalization initiatives spurred by President Ma’s New Year Address, as Taiwan evaluates its readiness for and interest in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

Moy’s positive comments indicate the importance the U.S. attaches to the ROC government’s determination and preparations to join the TPP. The ROC government firmly believes that economic and trade ties with the U.S. will be further strengthened going forward through cooperation based on mutual trust and benefit, and wide-ranging bilateral relations will continue to develop as a strong, enduring partnership.

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