BTA Coalition Letter to United States Trade Representative

AmCham Chairperson CW Chin was delighted to awake to the announcement from U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Minister John Deng that Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFA) talks will be re-starting shortly, fulfilling a long-standing request of the 1,021 members of our Chamber.

TIFA talks not only remove impediments to two-way trade and investment but also set strategic direction for business development. It is entirely fitting that announcement of the TIFA re-start should coincide with another successful SelectUSA Annual Investment Summit, in virtual form this year, to which Taiwan – yet again – contributed the world’s largest single delegation. Frameworks like the TIFA, a plurilateral digital trade accord or an FTA, are only meaningful to the extent that private sector actors like AmCham Taiwan breath life – and jobs – into them.

AmCham Taiwan stands ready to join with our business partners and allies in the U.S.-Taiwan Bilateral Trade Agreement Coalition to build on the impetus provided by Ambassador Tai and Minister Deng.

On June 8, 2021, BTA Coalition members the US-Taiwan Business Council and the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan sent a joint letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai. In the letter, they conveyed the resumption of discussions under TIFA and a U.S.-Taiwan Bilateral Trade agreement. 

While restarting TIFA talks is an indispensable first win, the two organizations – representing American business interests in Taiwan on both sides of the Pacific – encouraged Ambassador Tai to announce her intention to initiate Bilateral Trade Agreement talks as soon as feasible.

Please see a copy of the letter below.