Taiwan Using its Close US Ties to Seek Elusive Economic Deals with a Major Trading Partner

Taiwan is taking its strong relations with the United States to a new level by pursuing economic deals that could make the export-reliant but isolated Asian island more competitive in the world. U.S. and Taiwanese officials Friday signed a memorandum of understanding to expand ࢀœeconomic prosperityࢀ through a series of talks, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei, the American Institute in Taiwan, said in a statement on its website. Future dialogue will be aimed at creating new types of cooperation, the statement said. The memo signed in Washington raises hopes that Taiwan and the United States can eventually do…