Biden signs US-Taiwan agreement on trade in 21st century - White House

WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden signed into law a House resolution implementing the US-Taiwan trade agreement signed on June 1, reported Sputnik quoting a White House announcement.

"On Monday, August 7, 2023, the President signed into law: H.R. 4004, the 'United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement Implementation Act,' which approves the June 1, 2023, trade agreement between the United States and Taiwan, under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States," the White House said in a press release.

The US House Ways and Means Committee also issued a press release saying that the agreement sets rules in five areas of bilateral trade: customs administration and trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, services regulation, anti-corruption, and small and medium-sized businesses.

At present, Taiwan is the United States’ ninth largest trading partner with US$90.6 billion in total traded goods in 2020, according to US Trade Representative Office data.

Meanwhile, Biden said on Monday that he is going to treat certain requirements of the newly implemented US-Taiwan trade agreement as non-binding when they infringe on his authority to negotiate with foreign partners.

"Today, I have signed into law H.R. 4004, the ‘United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement Implementation Act,’" Biden said in a statement. "In cases where the requirements of section 7 of the Act would impermissibly infringe upon my constitutional authority to negotiate with a foreign partner, my Administration will treat them as non-binding." - BERNAMA