TAIPEI—Taiwan’s chief trade negotiator John Deng said on Wednesday he told the United States he hopes the two can sign a free trade agreement, a deal which would be a strong show of U.S. support in the face of relentless Chinese pressure against the island.
Both sides held the long-delayed talks on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, or TIFA, virtually. These were stalled after former U.S. President Barack Obama left office in 2016 and his successor Donald Trump’s trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, focused his attention on China, the world’s second-largest economy.
