Taipei, Sept. 30 (CNA) The United States and Taiwan will resume suspended trade talks and negotiations could take place as early as this year, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and Taiwanese officials said Thursday.
"The two sides are working to finalize mutually agreeable dates for the meeting, and are targeting late 2010 or early 2011, " the AIT, the U.S. representative office in Taiwan in the absence of official bilateral diplomatic ties, said in a press release, referring to the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
The press release came after a U.S. delegation's two-day visit to Taiwan from Sept. 28-29.
Led by Claire Reade, U.S. assistant trade representative for China affairs, the delegation from the United States Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce and AIT Washington were in Taipei for meetings with Taiwanese counterparts to discuss economic issues, according to the AIT.
The TIFA framework has provided an official channel for Taiwan-U.S. dialogue on trade and economic issues since it was signed in September 1994, but the two sides have not held TIFA talks since 2007.
Bruce J.D. Linghu, director-general of the Department of North American Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) , confirmed the news at a press briefing later in the day.
"The U.S. side has touched upon a wide range of issues including agricultural products and intellectual property rights, " he said. "Both sides have narrowed their differences in certain areas."
The two sides have agreed to hold the next meeting of the TIFA Trade and Investment Council, which will be chaired on the U.S. side by Demetrios Marantis, deputy trade representative, and on the Taiwan side by Francis Liang, vice minister of economic affairs.
The new round of talks will be held in Taiwan, according to a press release made public Thursday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The U.S. has said that a full-fledged free trade agreement with Taiwan is not possible at this time because it does not think Taiwan is fully prepared to open its market.
The U.S. and Taiwan have been trying to use a "building-block" format that relies on a series of specific deals under the TIFA framework, such as a bilateral investment agreement and an agreement on avoidance of double taxation, to enhance cooperation. (By Chris Wang) enditem/bc