On Thursday (October 1), half of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer, encouraging him to begin the process of formally negotiating a “comprehensive trade agreement” with Taiwan. In addition to expressing appreciation for the legislators’ longstanding support for Taiwan regardless of party affiliation, Taiwan’s U.S. Representative Office said it looks forward to continuing to work with the U.S. Congress to promote an upgraded U.S.-Taiwan partnership.
Last December, 161 members of the U.S. House of Representatives from across party lines wrote a letter to Robert Lighthizer expressing support for the U.S.-Taiwan bilateral trade agreement, although Lighthizer told members of Congress that Taiwan’s restrictions on U.S. pork and beef imports are the most significant obstacle to further U.S.-Taiwan trade relations.
After Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s announcement in late August that restrictions on imports of U.S. pork and beef containing lean meat extracts would be lifted, which was also affirmed by Trump administration officials and members of Congress, calls for a U.S.-Taiwan bilateral trade agreement began to grow louder and faster, but the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), which oversees U.S. foreign trade negotiations, has remained very quiet.
The letter was led by the bipartisan co-chairs of the U.S. Senate’s Taiwan Link, Republican Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Democrat Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-ID).
On the Foreign Affairs Committee’s Twitter account, Risch tweeted, “Taiwan is an important partner of the United States and a model of democracy in the Indo-Pacific region. Today, I joined a number of my Senate colleagues in encouraging the U.S. Trade Representative to prioritize a comprehensive trade agreement with Taiwan.”
In a retweet to Risch, Taiwan’s representative to the U.S., Hsiao Mei-chin thanked Taiwan Link leaders, including Senators Inhofe and Menendez, for writing to the U.S. Trade Representative to advocate for U.S.-Taiwan trade negotiations. “We share the view that a stronger economic and trade relationship between Taiwan and the U.S. is good for both of us. Thank you.” .
Half of the 100-member Senate expressed support for a U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement, anticipating that it might put some pressure on Lighthizer.
The letter states, “As we move forward with the Free and Open Indo-Pacific initiative, we believe it is time to establish trade agreements with countries that share our regional vision. Based on their record as a long-standing economic partner and security ally, we highly encourage you to begin a formal process of negotiating a comprehensive trade agreement with Taiwan.”
In the letter, the senators noted that as the United States’ 11th largest trading partner, with trade in goods totaling $76 billion in 2018 and trade in services valued at $18.5 billion, Taiwan has demonstrated the ability to maintain a strong economic partnership with the United States. Along with robust trade in goods and services, Taiwan supports an estimated 208,000 U.S. jobs, and “that number will certainly increase with a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement.”
In addition to U.S. goods and services, the congressman said, Taiwan is also a reliable partner for many U.S. industries, “which is essential not only for the U.S. to diversify its supply chain, but also to reduce its dependence on other countries, such as China, which seeks to exploit supply chain imperfections in order to achieve regional and global dominance. The fragmentation of our supply chain is essential to our national security.”
While there will be challenges to reaching an agreement with Taiwan, such as on agricultural standards, the lawmakers said they are confident that progress can be made. Taiwan has already taken steps to move those conversations forward, and they announced their intention to lift restrictions on U.S. pork and beef products. “Once implemented, this change will significantly increase market access to Taiwan for our farmers and livestock producers. In light of this important development, we should now specifically move forward with negotiations for a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement with Taiwan.”
The letter added that a free and open Indo-Pacific region is a goal that the U.S. is actively working toward and that the U.S. must counter China’s use of unfair trade practices and other policies to advance its economic dominance in the region. “An agreement with Taiwan would help us achieve this goal by creating a network of like-minded governments that are committed to fair competition and open markets free from government manipulation, and in doing so, send a signal to other countries that Taiwan is a worthy and welcoming partner for business. “
The senators concluded by expressing confidence that a U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement would promote security and economic growth for the United States, Taiwan, and the entire Indo-Pacific region, and urged the administration to make a comprehensive trade agreement with Taiwan a priority: “We look forward to working with you to ensure that this framework is in place.”
The 50 senators include, in addition to the aforementioned Inhofe, Menendez and Risch, a number of bipartisan heavyweights such as Republicans Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Cory Gardner and Lindsey Graham, and Democrats Mark Warner, Tim Kaine and Chris Coons.
In response to a letter sent to Lighthizer by 50 U.S. senators, regardless of party affiliation, expressing support for the U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement, Taiwan’s U.S. Representative Office expressed its gratitude in a statement.
The statement said, “The Taiwan Representative Office in the United States expresses its sincere gratitude to the U.S. Congress for its long-standing bipartisan support for the deepening of substantive relations between Taiwan and the United States, and for Taiwan’s concrete actions in expanding international space, defending our sovereignty, democratic and free institutions, and the security of the Taiwan Strait, and looks forward to continuing to work with the U.S. Congress to promote the upgrading of the U.S.-Taiwan partnership.”
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