方恩格快评》美台贸易倡议有必要吗？

行政院举行记者会宣布，启动台美21世纪贸易倡议进行双边贸易谈判。（行政院提供）

《贸易暨投资架构协定》，《国际环境伙伴计划》，《台美数位经济论坛》，《全球合作暨训练架构》，《太平洋对话》，《台美防疫伙伴关系联合声明》，《医卫合作了解备忘录》，《经济繁荣伙伴对话》，《教育倡议》。

以上这些都是什么碗糕？

这些是美国和台湾之间的协议、对话、架构、伙伴关系和了解备忘录的名称。大多数这些项目的正式名称前面都会加个「美台」或「台美」字样。

这份清单的最新项目是6月1日宣布的「美台21世纪贸易倡议」。

「美台21世纪贸易倡议」有必要吗？实际上，现有的协议、对话、框架、伙伴关系和了解备忘录已经包含了这项新倡议中提议讨论的项目。如果现有平台尚未包含项目，则可以轻松扩展它，而无需以不同的名称创建另一个平台。

相反地，「美台21世纪贸易倡议」被视为台湾的又一个「取暖派对」，类似于台湾在世界卫生大会（WHA）或COP26 期间在会外举办的「取暖派对」活动。

在台湾被排除在最近宣布的《印太经济架构》（IPEF）之外后，拜登政府或许想给台湾「面子」。尽管台湾政府决定允许进口含有莱克多巴胺的猪肉，而且台湾政府在去年公投前做出了允许进口美国莱猪将促进台湾参与贸易协议的努力，但台湾仍被排除在 IPEF 或与 IPEF 类似的「贸易便捷化协定」之外。

在没有签署自由贸易协定的情况下，「美台21世纪贸易倡议」似乎也是美国在市场准入和关税问题上向台湾施压的另一种方式。也就是说，这些是美国希望台湾做出的让步（寻求在美国开展业务或向美国出售产品的台湾公司已经从市场准入和低关税中受益）。台湾的政界和商界领袖应该做好准备。

有一点可以肯定的：这些对话、架构和论坛为台湾和美国政府官员提供了以纳税人的费用互访参加会议的机会。希望他们取得对美国和台湾经济都有利的实质性成果，这不仅仅是政府官员和媒体声称双边关系「坚如磐石」或「突破」的机会，然而这些「突破」至今都尚未真正发生。

或者，台湾政府本可以拒绝加入「美台21世纪贸易倡议」，以表达被排除在IPEF外的不满。近日，笔者在《中国时报》的一篇评论文章中问道：「台湾政府会不会有这样的一天，在感谢美国的同时，又在最符合台湾利益的时候批评美国？」台湾在没有参与IPEF的情况下接受拜登政府的「补偿」，说明至少目前，这一天还没有到来。

The Indo Pacific Economic Framework Pity Party

By Ross Darrell Feingold

Former Asia Chairman, Republicans Abroad

Twitter: @RossFeingold

Trade & Investment Framework Agreement. International Environmental Partnership Plan. Digital Economy Forum. Global Cooperation and Training Framework. Pacific Islands Dialogue. Partnership Against Coronavirus. Memorandum of Understanding on Health Cooperation. Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue. Education Initiative.

What are these?

These are the names of agreements, dialogues, frameworks, partnerships, and memorandums of understanding between the United States and Taiwan. The formal name of most of these items includes the words “U.S.-Taiwan” or “Taiwan-U.S.”

The newest item for this list is the “U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade” announced on June 1st.

Is the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade necessary? In reality, the existing agreements, dialogues, frameworks, partnerships, and memorandums of understanding already include the items that this new initiative proposes to discuss. If the existing platforms did not already include an item, it could easily be expanded, without the need to create yet another platform under a different name.

Instead, the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade comes across as yet another “pity party” for Taiwan, similar to Taiwan‘s “pity party” event on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly, or on the sidelines of the COP26 meeting.

Perhaps the Biden Administration wanted to provide “face” to Taiwan after Taiwan was excluded from the recently announced Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). The exclusion of Taiwan from the IPEF occurred despite the Taiwan government’s decision to allow import of pork that includes ractopamine, and the efforts the Taiwan government made prior to last year’s referendum that permitting the import into Taiwan of pork with ractopamine would facilitate Taiwan’s participation in trade agreements, or like the IPEF, “trade facilitation” agreements.

The U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade also appears to be another way for the U.S. to pressure Taiwan on market access and tariff issues in the absence of signing a free trade agreement. That is, these are concessions that the United States wants Taiwan to make, (Taiwan companies seeking to do business in, or sell products to, the United States already benefit from market access and low tariffs). Politicians and business leaders in Taiwan should be prepared.

One thing is certain: These dialogues, frameworks, and forums create opportunities for Taiwan and U.S. government officials to travel either to the United States or Taiwan at taxpayer expense to attend meetings. Let’s hope they achieve something substantive that is good for the economies of both the U.S. and Taiwan, and this is not simply a chance for government officials and media to claim bilateral relations are “rock solid” or that a “breakthrough” has occurred when one has yet to actually occur.

Alternatively, the Taiwan government could have declined to join the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade in order to show its displeasure at the exclusion from the IPEF. Recently, this author asked in a commentary for the China Times “Will the day come when Taiwan’s government simultaneously thanks but also, when it best serves Taiwan’s interests, criticizes the United States?” Taiwan agreeing to a “pity party” in the absence of IPEF participation indicates that at least for now, this day has yet to come.

※以上言论不代表旺中媒体集团立场※