Twenty-three Republican members of the US House of Representatives on Monday called on US President Joe Biden’s administration to pursue a free-trade agreement with Taiwan.
A letter written by US Representative Lisa McClain from Michigan and signed by 22 other representatives seeks to persuade Biden that such a trade deal would benefit both nations economically, and enable the US to address China’s economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
“A free-trade agreement with Taiwan would not only open up new opportunities for Michigan’s manufacturing and agriculture industries, it would also allow Taiwan to become less reliant on Communist China,” McClain said in a statement.
“A free-trade agreement with Taiwan would show our allies in the region that the United States is committed to working with our partners in the Indo-Pacific region to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s [CCP] growing influence and territorial advances,” she said.
“We must show our allies that they are not alone in that fight,” she added.
The letter urges the Biden administration to sign a free-trade agreement with Taiwan under the Taiwan-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.
The representatives said that since the passage of the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979, Taiwan has become an strong ally of the US against the CCP’s expanding influence and military power in Southeast Asia.
“A formal free-trade agreement with Taiwan would bring significant economic benefits for both our nations,” the letter said. “Taiwan is also a fertile investment opportunity for many of our businesses in the technology sector. Taiwan has rapidly become one of the premier electronics manufacturing hubs in the world.”
A free-trade agreement is expected to create more business opportunities for US manufacturers and farmers, while the US would also gain better access to Taiwan’s food and energy sectors, and boost the protection of intellectual property rights for US firms, it said.
The letter praised the decision by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to invest and build an advanced wafer plant in Arizona.
“A free-trade agreement with Taiwan would allow the United States to begin countering CCP’s economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region,” the letter said.
“By enacting a trade agreement with Taiwan, the United States would demonstrate to our Indo-Pacific allies that we are invested in their security and prosperity,” it said.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) thanked the representatives for their support and said that Taiwan would continue to push for a free-trade agreement with the US, and deepen trade and investment ties between the two nations.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS