Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Friday that although a senior U.S. Trade official visited Taiwan last week to discuss various economic and trade issues, it is difficult to say whether bilateral trade talks will resume in January on the basis of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

Tim Stratford, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, met last week with MOEA Vice Minister Liang Kuo- hsin to discuss issues related to the possibility of signing a bilateral investment agreement and amending the regulations on U.S. beef imports, an MOEA official said.

Because the U.S. is concerned about the position being taken by the Legislative Yuan on U.S. beef imports, it is difficult to say whether U.S.-Taiwan trade talks would reopen in January, the official said.

The representative group, led by Stratford who is responsible for developing and implementing U.S. trade policy toward China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Mongolia, also discussed with Taiwan officials matters such as rice imports, pesticide residues, and standards for fire-proof construction materials, according to the official.

The U.S. hopes Taiwan would follow international standards on building material imports, not just Japanese standards, as sometimes U.S. building materials are rejected under the Japanese standard, the

MOEA official said.

The U.S. may seek to resolve that issue with Taiwan within the framework of the World Trade Organization, the official added.

Since the two countries suspended formal diplomatic ties in 1979, the TIFA talks, agreed to in 1994, have provided a significant official channel for Taiwan-U.S. dialogue on trade and economic issues. However, the talks, which are usually hosted by either side on an annual basis, have been suspended since 2007.

Harry Ho-jen Tseng, director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) North American Affairs Department, told reporters Thursday that the visit by officials of the U.S. trade representative office last week was meant to pave the way for the next round of TIFA talks.

According to Tseng, a wide range of matters could be discussed in the next round of talks, but agreements on bilateral investment and the avoidance of double taxation are the most pressing matters for the two sides. (By Shu-yuan Lin and Fanny Liu)

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