The first round of negotiations under a new trade initiative between Taiwan and the United States is scheduled to take place on Nov. 8-9 in New York, according to a government source on Thursday.

Taiwan’s delegation for the talk, whose agenda could include issues related to trade facilitation and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), will be led by Deputy Trade Representative from the Office of Trade Negotiations Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮), the source told CNA.

The delegation will be composed of officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Taiwan’s representative office in the U.S., the source said.

In August, Taipei and Washington announced that both sides would begin the first round of negotiations under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade in fall, with the aim of working towards a trade agreement with “high-standard” commitments and “economically meaningful outcomes” in 11 areas.

The 11 trade areas to be addressed are trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, anti-corruption, SMEs, agriculture, standards, digital trade, labor, environment, state-owned enterprises, and nonmarket policies and practices.

Taiwan’s government is hoping that a trade agreement would be signed before the U.S. hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation annual meeting in 2023, the source said.

The U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade was unveiled by U.S. and Taiwan trade officials in June after Taiwan was excluded from the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a U.S.-led multilateral partnership involving 12 other countries, which has been touted as a counterweight to China-initiated free trade deals in the region.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel