The seventh meeting between the United States and the ROC under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) was held on March 10. In the evening following the talks, President Ma Ying-jeou met with Deputy US Trade Representative Ambassador Demetrios Marantis. The resumption of talks is a very positive sign for bilateral trade and economic cooperation, said the president, who also expressed hope that the talks will yield mutually beneficial results as soon as possible.
In remarks, the president noted that Ambassador Marantis was leading a delegation including US Department of Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Darci Vetter, as well as officials from the Department of Commerce, Department of State, and the American Institute in Taiwan, which is a strong indication of the sincere intent of the US to improve trade and economic relations between the two countries. President Ma stated that the TIFA was established in 1994 as an avenue for communication between Taiwan and the United States. The last time that talks under this framework were held was six years ago, he noted, expressing confidence that the resumption of negotiations on trade, investment, industrial, and technology issues will lay a solid foundation upon which mutually beneficial cooperation can be built.
President Ma emphasized that this round of negotiations is extremely important for Taiwan, as it affords an opportunity to establish a new relationship in crucial areas of the trade and economic relationship. He pointed out that the ROC last year resolved the issue of imports of US beef, adding that over the past several months the quantity of US beef imports has already returned to and even surpassed levels seen before restrictions on beef imports were imposed. The president stated that the talks between the two delegations on investment, trade in services, technical trade barriers, and cooperation via multilateral frameworks constitute "an extremely good start," as both sides will be able to familiarize themselves with the other's positions and then reach agreements in areas where a consensus exists.
The president said that Taiwan is extremely interested in joining in regional economic integration mechanisms, but still has room for improvement in terms of its level of trade liberalization, so it will continue to work to create the necessary conditions to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
With respect to relations between Taiwan and the United States, President Ma stated, upon taking office he actively sought to re-establish mutual trust at the highest levels between the two countries. He noted that a number of high-ranking US officials have visited Taiwan over the past two years, which shows the importance that the United States places on its relationship with Taiwan. The president commented that over the past five years, US presidents from both the Republican and Democratic parties have agreed to sell Taiwan defensive weapons worth a total of over US$18 billion, he said. Taiwan not only is an important security and economic partner of the United States, but also maintains close coordination with the United States on the US Megaports Initiative, as well as in the areas of anti-terrorism and the prevention of human trafficking, he stated. The president also pointed out that of the 37 countries included in the US Visa Waiver Program, Taiwan is the only one that does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with the United States. All of these developments, he noted, indicate the close and friendly relationship between the United States and Taiwan.
On the subject of cross-strait relations, President Ma explained that he has proactively sought to improve Taiwan's relationship with mainland China since taking office. To date, the two sides have signed 18 agreements, and the relationship is more peaceful and stable than at any other time in the past 60 years, he said. The government, he pledged, will continue to further improve US-Taiwan relations and cross-strait ties.
The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Director Christopher J. Marut of the American Institute in Taiwan to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Secretary-General Jason C. Yuan (袁健生), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Joseph Shih (石定), and Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shih-Chao Cho (卓士昭).