Negotiations With Switzerland, Taiwan, India Progressing
Trade talks with Taiwan have "made a lot of advances," according to a senior administration official, speaking on background with a group of reporters Nov. 13. He had been announcing frameworks with El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador and Argentina, and was asked about which countries might come next.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
He said he'd just finished a meeting with Swiss officials in Washington hoping to get a reduction on that country's 39% tariff, and said it was a "very positive conversation." He said reducing tariffs as part of any deal is always "up to the president."
The official acknowledged that Switzerland already had "fairly low tariffs," but he said they have agreed to add aircraft parts manufacturing and pharmaceutical manufacturing in the U.S. to reduce their exports in those areas to the U.S.
The official said that negotiators have been having "quite positive conversations with other Central American and South American countries" as well. He said there have been "positive developments" with India recently.
He said it's always up to the president, whether he wants to have a deal, but he said there could be more announcements before the end of the year.