Representatives from the U.S. and Taiwan signed the first part of trade agreement on the eve of Singapore’s high-level global security summit. The agreement is the first official trade agreement of the island since Taiwan was excluded from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) launched by Biden last year. In 2022, the US’s refusal to include Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) triggered a wave of domestic criticisms about U.S. policy toward Taiwan. For Taiwan, the new trade agreement represents a solid economic opportunity that decreases Chinese capacity to economically oversee and coerce Taiwan. Herrmann Eufracio Katja-Elisabeth, “Tensions spark in Asia over Pelosi’s tour in the Indo-Pacific” The Warsaw Institute (15 August 2022).

Source: CNN July 03, 2023 10:36 UTC