Taiwan, U.S. to sign first deal under new trade framework

TAIPEI, June 1 (Reuters) – Taiwan and the United States will sign the first deal under a new trade talks framework on Thursday, both governments said, boosting ties between the two at a time of heightened tensions with China over the democratically-governed island. Taiwan and the United States started talks under what is called the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade last August, after Washington excluded Taiwan from its larger pan-Asian trade initiative, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said in a brief statement the first agreement under the framework would be signed in Washington on Thursday…