IB 
Union Calendar No. 237 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 540 
[Report No. 118–293] 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to pursue more equitable treatment 
of Taiwan at the international financial institutions, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 26, 2023 
Mrs. KIM of California (for herself and Mr. GREEN of Texas) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
DECEMBER 1, 2023 
Additional sponsors: Mr. LAWLER, Ms. LEE of Nevada, and Ms. DE LA CRUZ 
DECEMBER 1, 2023 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 26, 2023] 
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A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to pursue more 
equitable treatment of Taiwan at the international finan-
cial institutions, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taiwan Non-Discrimi-
nation Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds as follows: 
(1) As enshrined in its Articles of Agreement, the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF) is devoted to 
promoting international monetary cooperation, facili-
tating the expansion and balanced growth of inter-
national trade, encouraging exchange stability, and 
avoiding competitive exchange depreciation. 
(2) Taiwan is the 21st largest economy in the 
world and the 10th largest goods trading partner of 
the United States. 
(3) Although Taiwan is not an IMF member, it 
is a member of the World Trade Organization, the 
Asian Development Bank, and the Asia-Pacific Eco-
nomic Cooperation forum. 
(4) According to the January 2020 Report on 
Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of 
Major Trading Partners of the United States, pub-
lished by the Department of the Treasury, Taiwan 
held $471,900,000,000 in foreign exchange reserves, 
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more than major economies such as India, South 
Korea, and Brazil. 
(5) According to section 4(d) of the Taiwan Re-
lations Act (Public Law 96–8), enacted on April 10, 
1979, ‘‘Nothing in this Act may be construed as a 
basis for supporting the exclusion or expulsion of Tai-
wan from continued membership in any international 
financial institution or any other international orga-
nization.’’. 
(6) Taiwan held membership in the IMF for 9 
years following the recognition of the People’s Repub-
lic of China (PRC) by the United Nations, and 16 
Taiwan staff members at the Fund were allowed to 
continue their employment after the PRC was seated 
at the IMF in 1980. As James M. Boughton has noted 
in his Silent Revolution: The International Monetary 
Fund 1979–1989, even as the PRC was seated, the 
United States Executive Director to the IMF, Sam Y. 
Cross, expressed support on behalf of the United 
States Government for ‘‘some kind of association be-
tween Taiwan and the Fund’’. 
(7) On September 27, 1994, in testimony before 
the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations regarding 
the 1994 Taiwan Policy Review, then-Assistant Sec-
retary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs 
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Winston Lord stated: ‘‘Recognizing Taiwan’s impor-
tant role in transnational issues, we will support its 
membership in organizations where statehood is not a 
prerequisite, and we will support opportunities for 
Taiwan’s voice to be heard in organizations where its 
membership is not possible.’’. 
(8) The Congress has repeatedly reaffirmed sup-
port for this policy, including in Public Laws 107– 
10, 107–158, 108–28, 108–235, 113–17, and 114–139, 
and the unanimous House and Senate passage of the 
Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhance-
ment Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019. 
(9) In its fact sheet, entitled ‘‘U.S. Relations 
with Taiwan’’, published on August 31, 2018, the De-
partment of State asserts: ‘‘The United States sup-
ports Taiwan’s membership in international organi-
zations that do not require statehood as a condition 
of membership and encourages Taiwan’s meaningful 
participation in international organizations where its 
membership is not possible.’’. 
(10) According to the Articles of Agreement of 
the IMF, ‘‘membership shall be open to other coun-
tries’’, subject to conditions prescribed by the Board 
of Governors of the IMF. 
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(11) In the IMF publication ‘‘Membership and 
Nonmembership in the International Monetary Fund: 
A Study in International Law and Organization’’, 
Joseph Gold, the then-General Counsel and Director 
of the Legal Department of the IMF, elaborated on the 
differences 
between 
the 
terms 
‘‘countries’’ 
and 
‘‘states’’, noting that ‘‘the word ‘country’ may have 
been adopted because of the absence of agreement on 
the definition of a ‘state’ ’’ and, with respect to the use 
of ‘‘countries’’ and applications for IMF membership, 
‘‘the absence of any adjective in the Articles empha-
sizes the breadth of the discretion that the Fund may 
exercise in admitting countries to membership’’. Ac-
cording to Mr. Gold, ‘‘the desire to give the Fund 
flexibility in dealing with applications may explain 
not only the absence of any adjective that qualifies 
‘countries’ but also the choice of that word itself’’. 
(12) In his IMF study, Mr. Gold further ob-
serves, ‘‘in the practice of the Fund the concepts of 
independence and sovereignty have been avoided on 
the whole as a mode of expressing a criterion for 
membership in the Fund’’. He continues, ‘‘Although 
the Fund usually takes into account the recognition 
or nonrecognition of an entity as a state, there are no 
rules or even informal understandings on the extent 
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to which an applicant must have been recognized by 
members or other international organizations before 
the Fund will regard it as eligible for membership.’’. 
In fact, when considering an application for member-
ship where the status of an applicant may not be re-
solved, Mr. Gold writes ‘‘there have been occasions on 
which the Fund has made a finding before decisions 
had been taken by the United Nations or by most 
members or by members with a majority of the total 
voting power.’’ Mr. Gold concludes, ‘‘the Fund makes 
its own findings on whether an applicant is a ‘coun-
try’, and makes them solely for its own purposes.’’. 
(13) Although not a member state of the United 
Nations, the Republic of Kosovo is a member of both 
the IMF and the World Bank, having joined both or-
ganizations on June 29, 2009. 
(14) On October 26, 2021, Secretary of State 
Antony Blinken issued a statement in support of Tai-
wan’s ‘‘robust, meaningful participation’’ in the 
United Nations system, which includes the IMF, the 
World Bank, and other specialized United Nations 
agencies. Secretary of State Blinken noted, ‘‘As the 
international community faces an unprecedented 
number of complex and global issues, it is critical for 
all stakeholders to help address these problems. This 
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includes the 24 million people who live in Taiwan. 
Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system 
is not a political issue, but a pragmatic one.’’. He 
continued, ‘‘Taiwan’s exclusion undermines the im-
portant work of the UN and its related bodies, all of 
which stand to benefit greatly from its contribu-
tions.’’. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of the Congress that— 
(1) the size, significance, and connectedness of 
the Taiwanese economy highlight the importance of 
greater participation by Taiwan in the International 
Monetary Fund, given the purposes of the Fund ar-
ticulated in its Articles of Agreement; and 
(2) the experience of Taiwan in developing a vi-
brant and advanced economy under democratic gov-
ernance and the rule of law should inform the work 
of the international financial institutions, including 
through increased participation by Taiwan in the in-
stitutions. 
SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR TAIWAN ADMISSION TO THE IMF. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Governor of the 
International Monetary Fund (in this section referred to 
as the ‘‘Fund’’) shall use the voice and vote of the United 
States to vigorously support— 
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(1) the admission of Taiwan as a member of the 
Fund, to the extent that admission is sought by Tai-
wan; 
(2) participation by Taiwan in regular surveil-
lance activities of the Fund with respect to the eco-
nomic and financial policies of Taiwan, consistent 
with Article IV consultation procedures of the Fund; 
(3) employment opportunities for Taiwan na-
tionals, without regard to any consideration that, in 
the determination of the United States Governor, does 
not generally restrict the employment of nationals of 
member countries of the Fund; and 
(4) the ability of Taiwan to receive appropriate 
technical assistance and training by the Fund. 
(b) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It is the policy of the 
United States not to discourage or otherwise deter Taiwan 
from seeking admission as a member of the Fund. 
(c) WAIVER.—The Secretary of the Treasury may 
waive any requirement of subsection (a) for up to 1 year 
at a time on reporting to Congress that providing the waiv-
er will substantially promote the objective of securing the 
meaningful participation of Taiwan at each international 
financial institution (as defined in section 1701(c)(2) of the 
International Financial Institutions Act). 
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(d) SUNSET.—This section shall have no force or effect 
on the earlier of— 
(1) the date of approval by the Board of Gov-
ernors of the Fund for the admission of Taiwan as a 
member of the Fund; or 
(2) the date that is 10 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. TESTIMONY REQUIREMENT. 
In each of the next 7 years in which the Secretary of 
the Treasury is required by section 1705(b) of the Inter-
national Financial Institutions Act to present testimony, 
the Secretary shall include in the testimony a description 
of the efforts of the United States to support the greatest 
participation practicable by Taiwan at each international 
financial institution (as defined in section 1701(c)(2) of 
such Act). 
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Union Calendar No. 237 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 540 
[Report No. 118–293] 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to pursue 
more equitable treatment of Taiwan at the inter-
national financial institutions, and for other pur-
poses. 
DECEMBER 1, 2023 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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23:10 Dec 01, 2023
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