Taipei, Jan. 4 (CNA) Taiwan and the United States (U.S.) are scheduled to begin a new round of talks under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) during the last week in January, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said Tuesday.
The talks between Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) office will be held in Taipei after Jan. 20 and before the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 3., said Bruce J.D. Linghu, director-general of the MOFA's Department of North American Affairs, at a press briefing.
The TIFA, signed in September 1994, provides an official framework for Taiwan-U.S. dialogue on trade and economic issues, but the two sides have not held any TIFA talks since 2007 due mainly to conflict over a Taiwanese ban on U.S. beef imports.
The agenda for the upcoming meeting will include intellectual property rights enforcement, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, standards, agricultural issues and others matters related to technical barriers to trade, according to Raymond Burghardt, Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, during an address last November.
At Tuesday's press briefing, Linghu said he was "quite optimistic" that both sides will be able to reach consensus in their negotiations.
However, "Taiwan will only agree to do what we're capable of doing and on condition that we protect our own interests," he said in response to a question on whether a new agricultural deal could be expected.
Addressing other matters, Linghu said his department's priorities for 2011 will include arranging visits to Taiwan by active Cabinet-level officials from the U.S. and consolidating the U.S.' support for participation in international affairs.
He said the MOFA is arranging a visit by a former U.S. secretary of state, but he did not provide any further details. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc