IIB 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 540 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JANUARY 16, 2024 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
AN ACT 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to pursue more 
equitable treatment of Taiwan at the international finan-
cial institutions, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:29 Jan 17, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H540.RFS
H540
ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
HR 540 RFS
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, fa-
cilitating the expansion and balanced growth of 
international 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, 
more than major economies such as India, South 
Korea, and Brazil. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:29 Jan 17, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H540.RFS
H540
ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
HR 540 RFS
(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 
Taiwan from continued membership in any inter-
national financial institution or any other inter-
national organization.’’. 
(6) Taiwan held membership in the IMF for 9 
years following the recognition of the People’s Re-
public 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 as-
sociation between Taiwan and the Fund’’. 
(7) On September 27, 1994, in testimony be-
fore the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations re-
garding the 1994 Taiwan Policy Review, then-As-
sistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific 
Affairs Winston Lord stated: ‘‘Recognizing Taiwan’s 
important role in transnational issues, we will sup-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:29 Jan 17, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H540.RFS
H540
ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
HR 540 RFS
port its membership in organizations where state-
hood is not a prerequisite, and we will support op-
portunities for Taiwan’s voice to be heard in organi-
zations where its membership is not possible.’’. 
(8) The Congress has repeatedly reaffirmed 
support 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 Protec-
tion and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 
2019. 
(9) In its fact sheet, entitled ‘‘U.S. Relations 
with Taiwan’’, published on August 31, 2018, the 
Department of State asserts: ‘‘The United States 
supports Taiwan’s membership in international orga-
nizations that do not require statehood as a condi-
tion of membership and encourages Taiwan’s mean-
ingful 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. 
(11) In the IMF publication ‘‘Membership and 
Nonmembership in the International Monetary 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:29 Jan 17, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H540.RFS
H540
ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
HR 540 RFS
Fund: A Study in International Law and Organiza-
tion’’, Joseph Gold, the then-General Counsel and 
Director of the Legal Department of the IMF, elabo-
rated on the differences between the terms ‘‘coun-
tries’’ 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 emphasizes the breadth of the discre-
tion that the Fund may exercise in admitting coun-
tries to membership’’. According to Mr. Gold, ‘‘the 
desire to give the Fund flexibility in dealing with ap-
plications 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 ex-
tent to which an applicant must have been recog-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:29 Jan 17, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H540.RFS
H540
ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
HR 540 RFS
nized by members or other international organiza-
tions before the Fund will regard it as eligible for 
membership.’’. In fact, when considering an applica-
tion for membership where the status of an appli-
cant may not be resolved, 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 ‘country’, 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 organizations on June 29, 2009. 
(14) On October 26, 2021, Secretary of State 
Antony Blinken issued a statement in support of 
Taiwan’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 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:29 Jan 17, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H540.RFS
H540
ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
HR 540 RFS
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— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:29 Jan 17, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H540.RFS
H540
ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
HR 540 RFS
(1) the admission of Taiwan as a member of 
the Fund, to the extent that admission is sought by 
Taiwan; 
(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 nation-
als 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 
waiver will substantially promote the objective of securing 
the meaningful participation of Taiwan at each inter-
national financial institution (as defined in section 
1701(c)(2) of the International Financial Institutions 
Act). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:29 Jan 17, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H540.RFS
H540
ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
HR 540 RFS
(d) SUNSET.—This section shall have no force or ef-
fect 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 
International Financial Institutions Act to present testi-
mony, the Secretary shall include in the testimony a de-
scription 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). 
Passed the House of Representatives January 12, 
2024. 
Attest: 
KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 
Clerk. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:29 Jan 17, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H540.RFS
H540
ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS