Economics Minister John Deng said on Monday that Taiwan should pay close attention to the progress of a fast track trade bill in the United States.
The minister was talking about the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill that will grant temporary authority to the White House to negotiate international agreements. If passed, the Obama administration will be able to pursue one of the world’s largest trade deals, the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
After months of negotiation, US congressional leaders reached several agreements on the legislation last week. Economics Minister John Deng said that since the bill could bump up the TPP negotiations, Taiwan needs to closely monitor the situation.
“The issue has been at the center of controversy for two to three years now," said Deng. "So at least the US Senate has reached some consensus on the issue now. I think we should pay close attention to the development of the bill because once it is passed, the TPP negotiations could start to move very quickly. We have to keep an eye on the bill in order to know how to respond to the latest developments.”
Taiwan has been expressing interest in joining the Pacific trade agreement. The first round of negotiations will include the United States, Japan and ten other countries. Taiwan hopes to join as part of a second group of countries after an initial deal is reached.