TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Washington public policy think tank has suggested the Trump administration notify Congress that it plans to start negotiations with Taiwan for a bilateral free trade agreement.

According to Claude Barfield from American Enterprise Institute (AEI), by starting talks now, regardless of what happens in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the next administration would inherit ongoing trade talks and would not have to start the lengthy process over again. Barfield said that one of the main factors getting in the way of a deal had been Taiwan’s reluctance to open up its domestic markets to U.S. agricultural imports.

On Aug. 28, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) announced Taiwan would be lifting import restrictions on U.S. pork containing ractopamine and beef from cattle over 30 months old. The move by Tsai should remove much of the opposition from congressional agricultural interests, Barfield said.

China would oppose the trade talks, but since Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2000 as a “customs territory” with full WTO membership rights and obligations, Beijing would have no legal ground for opposing a trade agreement between the U.S. and Taiwan.

Barfield also pointed out that timing is crucial and that under the congressional grant of authority for the president to negotiate trade agreements, the U.S. trade representative must alert Congress 90 days before officially beginning such talks. This means that even if notice were given in the coming days or weeks, actual talks could not start until sometime in December at the earliest.

According to Barfield, if Biden were to win the election, he has said that he will not begin new trade talks until he has dealt with the economic and pandemic crises. However, if U.S-Taiwan negotiations are ongoing, Biden would be pressured to continue the talks.

Another reason for beginning trade talks now is the current Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) expires in July 2021. Since 1974, Congress has enacted TPA legislation that defines U.S. negotiating objectives and priorities for trade agreements and establishes consultation and notification requirements for the president to follow throughout the negotiation process.

If Trump is reelected, Barfield stated there could still be disruptions to trade negotiations, especially if U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer does not stay on. And if President Trump has not already started Taiwan negotiations, Congress will most likely not agree to a new set of negotiations before the TPA expires in July.

He concludes by saying all of these factors make it imperative that trade talks with Taiwan start sooner rather than later.