Conversely, in 2003, about 50,000 Thai nationals visited Taiwan, often for masses and exhibitions in the country`s capital. Learn more about Canada`s trade and investment agreements: types of contracts and how trade and investment agreements are gradually evolving. Two countries that already share a good amount of annual bilateral trade, Taiwan and Thailand, will become even closer friends if a new era opens in textile trade and international trade and investment continue to grow. Manik Mehta, a regular contributor to Taiwan, argues that the two nations would do well to consolidate their existing partnership with the formal adoption of a free trade agreement. As a new era for global textile trade opens, World Trade Organization rules replace the much-despised multifibre agreement and remove all quotas, more and more countries are embarking on free trade agreements (FTAs) to simplify rules and eliminate heavy tariffs on traded goods. Bilateral trade negotiations between the United States and Taiwan have been dead for years. The last meeting under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) — the existing trade negotiation mechanism — took place in October 2016. The BTA negotiations could therefore serve as a channel to address U.S. concerns about medicines and medical devices, address issues related to digital trade and intellectual property rights, and address issues related to labelling, regulation, and transparency. They could also serve as a platform for discussion on developing common standards, managing non-tariff barriers, and possible ways to address the U.S.-Taiwan trade deficit.

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