Bhatia, who will be accompanied by assistant U.S. trade representative for China Tim Stratford, will visit from May 24 to 27, in the highest-ranking visit from a U.S. official in six years.

His visit comes at a time when Taiwan and U.S. relations are somewhat rocky, following President Chen Shui-bian’s rejection of a transit stop over in Alaska offered by Washington.

But American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Taipei director Stephen Young, the U.S. mission head, said these trade talks under the bilateral Trade Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) had been planned some time earlier with the aim of improving and deepening trade ties.

“We will... look at all mechanisms to further advance trade ... relations... everything will be on the table,” Young said in his first press conference as U.S. mission head.

Young said a free trade agreement (FTA) would be discussed but hedged on whether the U.S. would ultimately support it.

“Its clearly something that Taiwan is interested in and therefore I am sure there will be a discussion of it,” Young said.

“(But) I think that the question will be from our perspective ... does the FTA provide the best tool for either portions of or all of the trade issues that lie between us,” Young said.

Young said trade issues to be discussed between Taiwan officials and Bhatia’s cross-agency delegation were mainly bilateral ones — such as intellectual property rights and telecommunications. He also said the U.S. wanted to see more openness in government procurement processes, with U.S. businesses having more of a chance to participate in them.

Young, who has been in Taiwan for two months and is relatively new to his post, also said the U.S. did not support Taiwan independence.

He said constitutional reform — which has been proposed by independence-leaning Chen — should be decided on by the Taiwanese people democratically.

But he added the U.S. believed discussion of constitutional issues relating to Taiwan independence were not helpful.

“I would hope that leaders of Taiwan, both in ruling party and in opposition party, would take that into account in balancing the question of whether and how the Taiwan constitution might be changed on the one hand and what is best for maintaining the fragile and but very essential tranquility and balance in cross-strait relations,” he said.

However, the U.S. would take very seriously any attempt to threaten or coerce democratic Taiwan, Young said.

“The engagement we have with the Taiwan military and the Taiwan political system on security issues is quite robust and is aimed at considering all eventualities,” he said, without elaborating.

Young also praised Taiwan for compiling an unprecedented national security report, saying China needed to make its own security environment more transparent and could use the report as a model to follow. He also denied Chen’s rejection of the Alaska stop overs had dented U.S.-Taiwan relations.

“I think that U.S.-Taiwan relations are fundamentally sound, fundamentally healthy,” he said.

The U.S. gives diplomatic recognition to China but is Taiwan’s most important ally. It provides the island with sufficient weapons to defend itself from an attack under the provisions of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).