Taiwan PLUS Act
Bill: H.R.2103 | Sponsor: Rep. Perry, Scott (R-PA)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Taiwan PLUS Act
This bill provides Taiwan with preferential treatment when receiving U.S. defense articles and services. Specifically, Taiwan shall be subject to the requirements and procedures that apply to certain U.S. partners and allies, such as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries, South Korea, and Australia.
Under this bill, certain defense transfers to Taiwan shall be subject to less stringent requirements, such as shorter waiting periods and higher minimum value thresholds before various oversight requirements kick in. Taiwan shall also be eligible to receive certain fee reductions and waivers related to defense transfers.
Taiwan shall receive such treatment for the five-year period starting from this bill's enactment, and the Department of State may extend this treatment for additional five-year periods if doing so would support U.S. national security interests.

To improve defense cooperation between the United States and Taiwan, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Taiwan PLUS Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Taiwan is the 10th largest trading partner in goods 
        with the United States.
            (2) Taiwan is recognized by 15 countries as an independent 
        state, and it is presently treated as a major non-NATO ally by 
        the United States under section 1206 of the Foreign Relations 
        Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228; 22 
        U.S.C. 2321k note).
            (3) The unclassified summary of the 2018 National Defense 
        Strategy notably prioritized United States efforts to protect 
        America's allies and partners, stating that United States 
        defense objectives include ``defending allies from military 
        aggression, and bolstering partners against coercion, and 
        fairly sharing responsibilities for common defense''.
            (4) The Taiwan Relations Act (Public Law 96-8; 22 U.S.C. 
        3301 et seq.) states that ``the United States will 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''.
            (5) Consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act, the United 
        States Congress has for four decades approved numerous defense 
        articles and defense services for Taiwan's self-defense, 
        including, since 2017, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems 
        (HIMARS), F-16 C/D fighter jets, MK 48 torpedoes, Harpoon 
        Coastal Defense Systems, Stinger man-portable air defense 
        systems, M109A6 Paladin howitzers, MS-110 Airborne 
        Reconnaissance Systems, Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods, Field 
        Information Communications Systems, and recertification of MIM-
        104 Patriot Missiles.
            (6) Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) data 
        indicates that Taiwan was the United States' largest Foreign 
        Military Sales customer in fiscal year 2020.
            (7) DSCA data also indicates that from fiscal years 1950 
        through 2020, Taiwan was the United States' third-largest 
        Foreign Military Sales customer, tied with Japan.
            (8) The Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 (subtitle B of title 
        III of division FF of Public Law 116-260), states, ``the United 
        States should conduct regular sales and transfers of defense 
        articles to Taiwan in order to enhance its self-defense 
        capabilities, particularly its efforts to develop and integrate 
        asymmetric capabilities, including undersea warfare and air 
        defense capabilities, into its military forces''.
            (9) Subparagraph (A) of section 1260(b)(1) of the National 
        Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-
        283) states, ``[the United States should continue] supporting 
        acquisition by Taiwan of defense articles and services through 
        foreign military sales, direct commercial sales, and industrial 
        cooperation, with an emphasis on capabilities that support the 
        asymmetric defense strategy of Taiwan, including anti-ship, 
        coastal defense, anti-armor, air defense, undersea warfare, 
        advanced command, control, communications, computers, 
        intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and resilient 
        command and control capabilities.''.
            (10) Subparagraph (B) of section 1260(b)(1) of such Act 
        further states that the United States should continue 
        supporting the development of defense forces necessary for 
        Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability by 
        ``ensuring timely review of an response to response to requests 
        of Taiwan for defense articles and services''.
            (11) In its 2019 Recommendations to Congress, the 
        bipartisan U.S.-China Economic and Security Commission issued 
        the following judgement: ``Congress [should] raise the 
        threshold of congressional notification on sales of defense 
        articles and services to Taiwan to the highest tier set to U.S. 
        allies and partners. Congress [should] also terminate any 
        requirement to provide prior notification of maintenance and 
        sustainment of military equipment and capabilities previously 
        sold to Taiwan.''.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) enhanced support for defense cooperation with Taiwan is 
        critical to the national security of the United States, 
        including through designation of Taiwan as a member of the 
        colloquially titled ``NATO Plus'' community of states, which 
        presently includes Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, 
        Israel, and New Zealand, with respect to consideration by 
        Congress of Foreign Military Sales to Taiwan, as well as all 
        other rights, privileges, and responsibilities afforded to such 
        community of states; and
            (2) Taiwan should be so designated as a member of the 
        ``NATO Plus'' community of states.

SEC. 4. ENHANCED DEFENSE COOPERATION.

    (a) In General.--During the 5-year period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this Act, Taiwan shall be treated as if it were a 
country listed in the provisions of law described in subsection (b) for 
purposes of applying and administering such provisions of law.
    (b) Provisions of Law Described.--The provisions of law described 
in this subsection are--
            (1) subsections (b)(2), (d)(2)(B), (d)(3)(A)(i), and (d)(5) 
        of section 3 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2753);
            (2) subsections (e)(2)(A), (h)(1)(A), and (h)(2) of section 
        21 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2761);
            (3) the matter following subparagraph (P) of subsection 
        (b)(1) and subsections (b)(2), (b)(6), (c)(2)(A), (c)(5), and 
        (d)(2)(A) of section 36 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2776);
            (4) section 62(c)(1) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2796a(c)(1)); 
        and
            (5) section 63(a)(2) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2796b(a)(2)).
    (c) Continued Application.--The Secretary of State is authorized to 
continue to apply this section with respect to Taiwan for additional 5-
year periods beginning after the end of the 5-year period described in 
subsection (a) if, with respect to each such additional 5-year period, 
the Secretary--
            (1) determines that such continued application is in the 
        national security interests of the United States; and
            (2) submits such determination to the Committee on Foreign 
        Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate not later than 14 days before 
        the start of such additional 5-year period.
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