Taiwan calls for early start of trade talks with EU

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s government has called on the European Union to begin trade talks swiftly after the bloc pledged to seek a trade deal with the tech heavyweight island, which Taipei has wanted ever since long time.

The EU included Taiwan on its list of trading partners for a possible bilateral investment deal in 2015, the year before President Tsai Ing-wen first became president of Taiwan, but did not have discussions with Taiwan on the matter since then.

Responding to the EU’s announced new strategy to strengthen its presence in the Indo-Pacific, including seeking a trade deal with Taiwan, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said on Friday that talks are expected to begin soon. The European Parliament has already given its support to an EU trade deal with Taiwan.

“We call on the European Union to initiate as soon as possible the work of pre-negotiation of impact assessment, public consultation and definition of the scope of a bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan, in accordance with the resolutions of the European Parliament, “he said.

“As a partner of the EU sharing the same values ​​and having fundamental values ​​such as democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law, Taiwan will continue to strengthen cooperation in the reorganization of the semiconductor supply chain and other related strategic industries, the digital economy, green energy and post-epidemic economic recovery.

EU member states and the EU itself have no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan due to objections from China, which regards the island as one of its provinces without the right to the attributes of the State, so any investment deal could be politically sensitive for the EU.

But the EU’s relations with China have deteriorated.

In May, the European Parliament suspended the ratification of a new investment pact with China until Beijing lifts sanctions against EU politicians, deepening the dispute in Sino-EU relations and denying EU companies better access to the world’s second-largest economy.

The EU has also sought to step up cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductors, as a chip shortage disrupts supply chains and closes some car production lines, including in Europe.