Taiwan eases restrictions on US meat imports in hope of deepening bilateral trade partnership

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/09/02
By: Ching-Tse Cheng, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Lotta Danielsson, vice president of the non-profit U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, is urging Washington to sign a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with Taipei after Taiwan announced its decision to remove age restrictions on U.S. pork and beef imports.

In an opinion piece published by Nikkei Asian Review on Tuesday (Sept. 1), Danielsson pointed out that the Taiwanese government has removed the main barriers to closer trade links with the U.S. despite backlash from opposition politicians and local farmers. She said the move signifies Taiwan's readiness to establish high-standard trade agreements with the U.S. and that Washington should capitalize on the opportunity to deepen economic cooperation between the two countries.

Danielsson stressed that there has been increasing support of a Taiwan BTA from members of the U.S. House of Representatives and that the TAIPEI Act passed by Congress also encouraged the pursuit of business opportunities with Taiwan. She said that several U.S. policy think tanks are also in favor of a Taiwan trade agreement.

Danielsson mentioned that a BTA would benefit the U.S. by giving Taiwan, its 9th largest trading partner, a more important role in strategic sectors in the Indo-Pacific region. She added that Taiwanese companies' semiconductor manufacturing is vital to the global technology supply chain and could help open new business opportunities for American technology companies.
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