{UAH} CLEANING UP THE CRAP JOE BIDEN BUILT BUT PROTECTED FOR 47 YEARS

Taiwan scraps pork and beef barriers in bid to start US free trade talks

by Joel Gehrke, Foreign Affairs Reporter | 

 August 28, 2020 03:54 PM

Taiwan agreed to eliminate barriers to importing American beef and pork as the beleaguered island’s leaders seek to expand trade ties with the United States as a bulwark against China.

“This decision is based on our national economic interests and consistent with our overall strategic goals for the future,” Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Friday. “We have to accelerate the formation of links with economies around the world and particularly forge a closer bond with our strongest strategic partner and global economic leader, the U.S.”

Tsai's’ team agreed to drop long-standing Taiwanese objections to the U.S. meat products in an effort to jump-start free trade talks with President Trump’s administration. U.S. officials applauded the decision, which has economic and geopolitical ramifications due to Tsai’s attempt to fortify her government’s relations with democratic nations in defiance of Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over the island.

“We look forward to the timely implementation of these actions, which will provide greater access for U.S. farmers to one of East Asia’s most vibrant markets and for Taiwan consumers to high-quality U.S. agricultural products,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday. “President Tsai’s vision and leadership in removing these long-standing barriers open the door to greater economic and trade cooperation between the United States and Taiwan.”

Chinese officials have fumed over such contacts between the U.S. and Taiwan, the last stronghold of the government that was overthrown when the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949. Party officials require countries that have diplomatic ties with China to sever contacts with Taiwan, which Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping hopes to bring under Beijing’s control, but Trump’s team and lawmakers have made a series of high-profile gestures to Taipei.

Tsai’s trade announcement comes one day after the American Institute of Taiwan, the unofficial embassy in Taipei, called attention to U.S.-Taiwan military ties by publishing a photo of a U.S. Air Force tanker refueling a Taiwanese F-16 fighter jet during a training exercise in Arizona.

“Our position is consistent and clear: We firmly oppose military ties and cooperation between the U.S. and the Taiwan region,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters earlier Friday. “We urge the U.S. to fully recognize the highly sensitive nature of the Taiwan question, strictly observe the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, properly handle Taiwan-related matters, and stop sending erroneous signals to 'Taiwan independence separatists.'”

Tsai offered the prospect of a free trade agreement as a step toward diminishing China’s clout in the global economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The U.S.-China trade dispute and the current pandemic have brought structural changes to the global economy and accelerated and expanded the realignment of global supply chains,” she said. “This marks an opportunity for Taiwan to move forward in engaging with the international community.”

EM         -> { Trump for 2020 }

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