IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1268 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States 
should initiate negotiations to enter into a free trade agreement with Taiwan. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 17, 2020 
Mr. RESCHENTHALER (for himself, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, and Mr. CHABOT) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Ways and Means 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the United States should initiate negotiations to enter 
into a free trade agreement with Taiwan. 
Whereas pursuant to section 2(b)(1) of the Taiwan Relations 
Act (22 U.S.C. 3301(b)(1)), it is the policy of the United 
States to ‘‘promote extensive, close, and friendly commer-
cial, cultural, and other relations between the people of 
the United States and the people of Taiwan’’; 
Whereas the friendship between the United States and Tai-
wan is based on a shared commitment to individual and 
economic freedom, shared values, and an appreciation for 
the blessings of liberty and democracy; 
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•HRES 1268 IH 
Whereas the United States and Taiwan enjoy a robust trade 
partnership, marked by the exchange of goods and serv-
ices and international travel; 
Whereas Taiwan has shown an interest in strengthening its 
economic relationship with the United States by investing 
in technology manufacturing facilities located within the 
United States and agreeing to lift restrictions on the im-
port of certain U.S. agricultural products; 
Whereas Taiwan has demonstrated a commitment to pro-
tecting intellectual property and individual freedom by 
serving as a leader in the responsible development of 
technology, as evidenced through a Joint Declaration on 
5G Security announced between the American Institute 
in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Rep-
resentative Office in August 2020; 
Whereas Taiwan has played an integral role in the global 
supply chain during the coronavirus disease 2019 (com-
monly known as ‘‘COVID–19’’) pandemic, producing 
massive amounts of masks at the time when masks were 
most scarce and ensuring that this critical tool was avail-
able to individuals around the world; 
Whereas the United States has consistently supported peace-
ful relations between Taiwan and the People’s Republic 
of China, and respected the provisions of both the Tai-
wan Relations Act (22 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.) and the Six 
Assurances offered by President Ronald Reagan to Tai-
wan in 1982; 
Whereas the People’s Republic of China has shown a hostility 
to Taiwan, aggressively asserting its military power, 
using coercive economic measures to keep Taiwan eco-
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•HRES 1268 IH 
nomically dependent on the People’s Republic of China, 
and seeking to isolate Taiwan from the rest of the world; 
Whereas the policy of the United States is to advance a free 
and open Indo-Pacific region, and achieving that vision 
must include working with like-minded countries in the 
region to liberalize trade; 
Whereas the United States is currently Taiwan’s 2nd largest 
trading partner, and Taiwan is the 10th largest trading 
partner of the United States in goods and 11th largest 
trading partner overall; 
Whereas Taiwan has been a member of the World Trade Or-
ganization since 2002; 
Whereas bilateral trade in goods between Taiwan and the 
United States increased from $62,000,000,000 in 2010 
to $86,000,000,000 in 2019, according to the United 
States Census Bureau; 
Whereas Taiwan’s foreign direct investment stock in the 
United States was $11,100,000,000 as of 2019; 
Whereas trade with Taiwan supports an estimated 208,000 
United States jobs according to estimates of the United 
States Department of Commerce as of 2015; 
Whereas closer engagement with Taiwan through trade nego-
tiations would encourage even greater access to Taiwan’s 
market and would benefit both security and economic 
growth for the United States, Taiwan, and the Indo-Pa-
cific region; 
Whereas it is essential that a free trade agreement negotiated 
between the United States and Taiwan lower tariff and 
nontariff barriers to trade, including meaningfully ex-
panded access to agricultural markets and ensuring that 
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•HRES 1268 IH 
science-based standards govern international trade in ani-
mals and animal products; 
Whereas the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and 
Accountability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4201 et seq.) en-
ables the President to negotiate reciprocal reductions of 
nontariff barriers while preserving the authority of Con-
gress over foreign trade as required by section 8 of arti-
cle I of the Constitution of the United States; 
Whereas the procedures laid out in the Bipartisan Congres-
sional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 
were designed by Congress to maintain the sovereignty of 
Congress over trade; and 
Whereas for legislation implementing a trade agreement to 
qualify for trade authorities procedures under the Bipar-
tisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability 
Act of 2015, the trade agreement is required to make 
progress toward achieving the applicable objectives, poli-
cies, and priorities set forth by Congress in that Act, and 
failure by the administration of a President to adhere to 
the trade negotiating objectives and notification and con-
sultation requirements established by Congress renders a 
trade agreement ineligible for fast-track consideration: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that the United States should initiate negotia-
tions to enter into a free trade agreement with Taiwan. 
Æ 
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