116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 13 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Whereas the Taiwan Relations Act (referred to in this resolution as the ‘‘TRA’’), which was signed into law on April 

10, 1979, codified into law the basis for continued commercial, cultural, and other relations between the people 

of the United States and the people of Taiwan, and 

serves as the foundation to preserve and promote continued bilateral bonds; 

Whereas the TRA enshrines the United States commitment 

to make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to 

enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability; 

Whereas pursuant to section 1206 of the Foreign Relations 

Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107– 

228; 22 U.S.C. 2321k note), Taiwan is to be treated as 

though it were designated a major non-NATO ally for 

transfers of defense articles or defense services; 

Whereas in 1982, President Ronald Reagan further clarified 

the importance and resilience of the United States-Taiwan relationship by agreeing to the Six Assurances; 

Whereas the TRA and the Six Assurances are cornerstones 

of United States policy with respect to Taiwan, as was 

reaffirmed— 
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(1) by the House of Representatives with the adoption of H. Con. Res. 88 on May 16, 2016; and 

(2) by the Senate with the adoption of S. Con. Res. 

38 on July 6, 2016; 

Whereas the TRA and the Six Assurances have been essential 

components in helping to maintain peace, security, and 

stability in the Western Pacific, thereby furthering the 

political, security, and economic interests of the United 

States and Taiwan; 

Whereas the United States and Taiwan have forged ever closer economic and security relations during the last 4 decades based on— 

(1) their shared commitment to democracy, human 

rights, the rule of law, and free market principles; and 

(2) their willingness to partner in efforts to combat 

global terrorism and to address other global challenges, 

such as challenges related to the environment, public 

health, energy security, education, women’s empowerment, digital economy, poverty, and natural disasters; 

Whereas the United States-Taiwan global partnership was 

further strengthened in June 2015, with a memorandum 

of understanding between the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, which established the 

Global Cooperation and Training Framework, and has allowed the 2 parties to cohost many workshops on critical 

topics, including a December 2018 workshop on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief that was attended by 

10 regional governments; 

Whereas Taiwan has the expertise, willingness, and capability 

to engage in international efforts to mitigate global challenges related to such issues as public health, aviation 
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safety, crime, and terrorism, but its participation in such 

efforts has been constrained by conditions imposed by the 

People’s Republic of China; 

Whereas successive Congresses have called upon the executive 

branch to develop strategies to obtain meaningful participation for Taiwan in international organizations, such as 

the World Health Organization, the International Civil 

Aviation Organization, and the International Criminal 

Police Organization (commonly known as ‘‘INTERPOL’’); 

Whereas the House of Representatives passed H.R. 353 on 

January 22, 2019, which expresses support for Taiwan’s 

participation at the World Health Organization’s World 

Health Assembly as an observer; 

Whereas communication on bilateral security, cultural, and 

commercial interests would be greatly enhanced with the 

full implementation of the Taiwan Travel Act (Public 

Law 115–135), which was signed into law on March 16, 

2018, and which states ‘‘the United States Government 

should encourage visits between officials from the United 

States and Taiwan at all levels’’; 

Whereas the United States and Taiwan have built a strong 

economic partnership in which— 

(1) the United States is Taiwan’s third largest trading partner; and 

(2) Taiwan is the 11th largest trading partner of the 

United States and a key destination for United States 

agricultural exports; 

Whereas strong United States-Taiwan economic relations 

have been a positive factor in stimulating economic 
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growth and job creation for the people of the United 

States and of Taiwan; and 

Whereas successive Congresses have publicly reaffirmed 

United States commitments to Taiwan under the Taiwan 

Relations Act and Six Assurances, including most recently on December 31, 2018, with the enactment into 

law of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–409), which states that— 

(1) it is United States policy ‘‘to support the close 

economic, political, and security relationship between Taiwan and the United States’’; and 

(2) the President should— 

(A) ‘‘conduct regular transfers of defense articles to Taiwan that are tailored to meet the existing 

and likely future threats from the People’s Republic 

of China, including supporting the efforts of Taiwan 

to develop and integrate asymmetric capabilities, as 

appropriate, including mobile, survivable, and costeffective capabilities, into its military forces’’; and 

(B) ‘‘encourage the travel of high-level United 

States officials to Taiwan, in accordance with the 

Taiwan Travel Act’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) reaffirms that the Taiwan Relations Act 

4 and the Six Assurances are, and will remain, corner5 stones of United States relations with Taiwan; 

6 (2) encourages United States officials at all lev7 els to travel to meet with their counterparts in Tai8 wan, and for high-level Taiwan officials to enter the 
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1 United States and meet with United States officials, 

2 in accordance with the Taiwan Travel Act; 

3 (3) reiterates that the President should conduct 

4 regular transfers of defense articles to Taiwan con5 sistent with Taiwan’s national security requirements 

6 in accordance with existing law, including the Asia 

7 Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 

8 115–409); 

9 (4) calls upon the Secretary of State to actively 

10 engage internationally in support of Taiwan’s mean11 ingful participation in international organizations 

12 engaged in addressing transnational threats and 

13 challenges such as those related to health, aviation 

14 security, and crime and terrorism; 

15 (5) recognizes Taiwan’s partnership in com16 bating global terrorism, including as a full partner 

17 in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and in ad18 dressing other global challenges through the Global 

19 Cooperation and Training Framework and similar 

20 initiatives; 

21 (6) urges the President to explore opportunities 

22 to expand and deepen bilateral economic and trade 

23 relations with Taiwan; 

24 (7) underscores the importance of the close peo25 ple-to-people ties cultivated through initiatives such 
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1 as the Fulbright Program, which has supported 

2 thousands of scholar and grantee exchanges between 

3 the United States and Taiwan for 60 years; 

4 (8) welcomes the inclusion of Taiwan into the 

5 United States visa waiver program and U.S. Cus6 toms and Border Protection’s Global Entry Program 

7 to make it easier for those traveling from Taiwan to 

8 visit the United States; and 

9 (9) acknowledges the important work done by 

10 the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei 

11 Economic and Cultural Representative Office in sup12 port of United States-Taiwan interests. 

Passed the Senate April 30, 2019. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 13 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the United States commitment to TaiRelations Act. wan and to the implementation of the Taiwan