USTR / Reports on Taiwan Initiative

Thursday the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released summaries of texts proposed by the U.S. side during the first negotiating round of the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21^st Century Trade, which was held in Taipei, Taiwan mide-January.  

Five Areas are addressed in the draft:

Customs administration and trade facilitation (CTF) e proposed text requires online posting of all laws, regulations, and procedures related to the import, export, and transit of goods. addresses e-commerce, including through provisions that reduce restrictions on express consignment shipments and facilitate the return of goods across borders requires border agencies to accept electronic payment of duties, taxes, and fees, while also encouraging growth in electronic invoicing and electronic invoicing frameworks.

Good regulatory practices (GRPs) publishing draft regulations and allowing adequate time for comments to be considered. regulatory transparency tools that can expand online access to relevant information, including information about registries of existing laws, the procedural requirements of regulatory authorities, websites where draft regulations are posted and comments accepted, and the acceptability of electronic documentation, where appropriate.

Services domestic regulation.  Licenses or other authorizations required to supply services,  the draft builds on the outcomes agreed to by World Trade Organization (WTO) Members in December 2021 in the Joint Statement Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation. The proposed text goes beyond the existing WTO rules fairness and transparency

Chapter on anticorruption expands on the framework in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement by including provisions addressing money laundering, the recovery of proceeds of corruption, denial of entry for foreign public officials, and additional protections for people who report corruption.

Small and medium-sized enterprises The draft proposes activities to promote SMEs owned by underserved and underrepresented groups, including women, indigenous people, youth, and minorities, as well as start-ups and agricultural and rural SMEs.