Call for Comments: U.S.–Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade

Submit Feedback to ANSI by June 29, 2022

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a request for comments (RFC) on June 7, 2022, on the proposed U.S.–Taiwan Initiative on 21^st-Century Trade. The United States and Taiwan, in coordination with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), launched this initiative to deepen the trade relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) seeks feedback from its members and relevant stakeholders on this RFC by June 29, 2022. ANSI will incorporate feedback received and work with its International Policy Advisory Group (IPAG) to prepare a coordinated response for the RFC.

On June 1, 2022, USTR announced that the United States and Taiwan, in conjunction with AIT and TECRO, launched the U.S.–Taiwan Initiative on 21^st-Century Trade. The main objective of this initiative is to expand the trade relationship between the United States and Taiwan, beginning with the two sides working under the auspices of AIT and TECRO to develop a roadmap for negotiations for reaching agreements in several specified trade areas.

In the RFC, USTR invites relevant stakeholders to submit comments with emphasis on the following issues that the USTR intends to address in the negotiations:

1. General negotiating objectives for the contemplated agreement;
2. Customs and trade facilitation;
3. Transparency and good regulatory practices;
4. Agriculture-related issues;
5. Anti-corruption-related issues;
6. Subjects of particular relevance to small and medium-sized enterprises;
7. Digital economy–related issues;
8. Labor-related issues;
9. Environmental and climate-related issues;
10. Issues pertaining to standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures;
11. Matters related to state-owned enterprises and designated monopolies;
12. Issues related to collaboration to address non-market policies and practices;
13. Other measures or practices that undermine fair market opportunities for U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses.

ANSI is particularly interested in members’ feedback on issues 1, 3, 6, and 10, but all feedback is welcome. Stakeholders interested in submitting input to inform ANSI’s coordinated response should send feedback to [email protected] no later than June 29, 2022.

Interested stakeholders may also submit comments directly to USTR by July 8, 2022, using the Federal eRulemaking Portal.