The agreement will be signed by AIT and TECRO in the coming weeks.

“This accomplishment represents an important step forward in strengthening the US-Taiwan economic relationship,” said Tai.

The first agreement under the initiative covers the areas of customs administration and trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, services domestic regulation, anti-corruption and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Through these clauses, US businesses can bring more products to Taiwan and Taiwanese customers, while creating more transparent and streamlined regulatory procedures that can facilitate investment and economic opportunities in both markets, particularly for SMEs, an official release from the US side said.

The negotiated text on good regulatory practices creates improved transparency tools and mechanisms that will help small and medium-sized enterprises better understand regulatory procedures in both the US and Taiwanese markets.

The text also establishes a Good Regulatory Practices Committee to monitor implementation of the obligations in this chapter, improve information sharing, and facilitate enhanced regulatory cooperation.

Both sides would promote online, publicly available resources for SMEs to learn more about how to conduct business in both markets.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)