IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 342 
Expressing the sense of Congress relating to a free trade agreement between 
the United States and Taiwan. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 15, 2006 
Mr. ANDREWS submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress relating to a free trade 
agreement between the United States and Taiwan. 
Whereas for more than 50 years a close relationship has ex-
isted between the United States and Taiwan, which has 
been of major economic, cultural, and strategic advantage 
to both countries; 
Whereas Taiwan is a democratic Nation with respect for the 
rule of law and human rights and has a fully functional 
free-market economy; 
Whereas these characteristics allow the United States and 
Taiwan to maintain a strong and vibrant bilateral eco-
nomic relationship; 
Whereas on January 1, 2002, Taiwan was officially admitted 
into the World Trade Organization, and this has reduced 
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•HCON 342 IH 
Taiwanese tariffs and has begun opening market access 
to foreign investment; 
Whereas on August 6, 2002, the President signed into law 
the Trade Act of 2002, which provides for an expedited 
procedure for congressional consideration of international 
trade agreements; 
Whereas the United States and Taiwan are members of the 
World Trade Organization and of its predecessor, the 
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, both of which 
guarantee the right of countries to enter into free trade 
agreements with other countries; 
Whereas the United States is Taiwan’s largest trading part-
ner and is a net exporter of agricultural products to Tai-
wan; 
Whereas in 2005 Taiwan was one of the top 10 largest mar-
kets for agricultural products of the United States in 
terms of value; 
Whereas Taiwan functions as the gateway to Asia, has the 
world’s third-largest foreign exchange reserves, and is the 
world’s third-largest exporter of information technology- 
related products; 
Whereas Taiwan ranks fourth in global growth competitive-
ness among the countries surveyed by the World Eco-
nomic Forum in 2004, while the United States ranks sec-
ond; 
Whereas the United States has concluded free trade agree-
ments with Australia, Jordan, Morocco, Panama, and 
Singapore, as well as with Central American countries; 
Whereas a free trade agreement between the United States 
and Taiwan would provide recognition of Taiwan’s status 
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•HCON 342 IH 
as a free and democratic Nation and would further en-
hance Taiwan’s democracy; 
Whereas Taiwan ranks as the eighth-largest trading partner 
with the United States, which is higher than the afore-
mentioned countries with which the United States has 
concluded free trade agreements; 
Whereas in 2003, former United States Trade Representative 
Robert Zoellick spelled out 13 criteria for selecting poten-
tial partners with which the United States would enter 
free trade agreements, criteria which Taiwan fulfills con-
siderably better than countries with which the United 
States has already signed free trade agreements; 
Whereas the Committee on Finance of the Senate and mem-
bers of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House 
of Representatives have written to the International 
Trade Commission expressing their interest in a free 
trade agreement between the United States and Taiwan, 
on January 17 and June 10, 2002, respectively; 
Whereas a report released by the International Trade Com-
mission in October 2002 estimated that United States ex-
ports to Taiwan would increase by 16 percent, or roughly 
$3,400,000,000 annually, when a free trade agreement 
between the United States and Taiwan is concluded; and 
Whereas a report released by the Institute for International 
Economics in 2004 predicted that such exports from the 
United States to Taiwan would experience an annual in-
crease of $6,600,000,000: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that— 
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•HCON 342 IH 
(1) the President should make the conclusion of 
a free trade agreement between the United States 
and Taiwan one of the top priorities of the United 
States when initiating bilateral free trade agree-
ments with foreign countries; and 
(2) the President should foster the expansion of 
trade opportunities with Taiwan by instructing the 
United States Trade Representative to expedite ne-
gotiations on a free trade agreement between the 
United States and Taiwan. 
Æ 
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