The U.S. and Taiwan restarted dormant trade and investment talks and pledged to keep supply chains free from forced labor, a clear jab at China. China, of course, objects to the negotiations taking place.
The trade talks were held via videoconference on Wednesday were the first between the U.S. and Taiwan since 2016.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the U.S. and Taiwan would create a new labor working group to pursue the issue. Taiwanese officials said the discussions were wide-ranging, covering supply chains, intellectual-property protection and financial services, as well as the import and export of vaccines and wild-animal protection.
U.S. officials said there are "a lot of things we have to do" before such an agreement can be reached.
While the talks do not deal with agriculture, the Trump administration refused to hold additional negotiations without assurances from Taiwan on ag trade issues.