May 18, 2022
Manchin, Capito Lead 52 Bipartisan Senators in Pressing Biden Administration to Include Taiwan in Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
Washington,
DC – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) led
52 bipartisan Senators in urging President Joe Biden to include Taiwan
as a partner in the proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). In
addition to recognizing Taiwan as an important trading partner to the United
States, the Senators highlighted that including Taiwan in the IPEF would bolster
American economic interests in the region and signal an international commitment
to Taiwanese prosperity.
“As Congress
focuses on boosting the United States' ability to compete effectively with
China, we are glad the administration is advancing components of its Indo-Pacific
strategy,” the Senators said in part. “IPEF
can be a meaningful first step for the United States to assure its allies and
partners that we are economically engaged in the region, which accounts for 60
percent of the world economy and two-thirds of all economic growth over the
last five years. For IPEF to be a useful vehicle to advance a free and open
Indo-Pacific, however, we must make sure that all of America's regional allies
and partners are included.”
In October of 2021, President Biden announced plans for the
U.S. to lead the IPEF to promote investments in infrastructure and clean energy
in the Indo-Pacific region. In February of 2022, a U.S. Trade Representative
(USTR) official said the initiative will include different strategies focused
on fair trade, supply chain resilience, clean infrastructure upgrades and tax
and anticorruption reforms. The Administration has been consulting with several
potential partners for the IPEF, including Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South
Korea, but the Administration has not yet reached out to Taiwan.
“Taiwan has long
been an important trading partner of the United States, with $114 billion in
two-way trade in 2021. Taiwan is a major hub of the global supply in
electronics, computers, and information and communication technologies, and has
served a critical role in diversifying the U.S. supply chain,” the Senators
continued. “Excluding Taiwan from IPEF would significantly distort the regional and
global economic architecture, run counter to U.S. economic interests, and allow
the Chinese government to claim that the international community does not in
fact support meaningful engagement with Taiwan.”
Senators Manchin and Capito were joined by Senators Bob
Menendez (D-NJ), Jim Risch (R-ID), John
Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha
Blackburn (R-TN), Richard
Blumenthal (D-CT.), Roy Blunt
(R-MO), John Boozman (R-AR),
Mike Braun (R-IN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Rob Portman (R-OH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Todd Young (R-IN).
The
letter is available in full below or here.
Dear Mr. President:
As Congress focuses on boosting the United States' ability
to compete effectively with China, we are glad the administration is advancing components
of its Indo-Pacific strategy. However, we remain concerned that Taiwan will not
be included in the proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
IPEF can be a meaningful first step for the United States to
assure its allies and partners that we are economically engaged in the region,
which accounts for 60 percent of the world economy and two-thirds of all
economic growth over the last five years. For IPEF to be a useful vehicle to
advance a free and open Indo-Pacific, however, we must make sure that all of
America's regional allies and partners are included. This is just one necessary
aspect to ensure the framework is competitive and effective in shaping regional
trade and economic architecture consistent with our interests and values,
especially in a region that already has numerous current and proposed trade and
economic structures.
As you consult with prospective IPEF partners, we urge you
to include Taiwan. Taiwan has long been an important trading partner of the
United States, with $114 billion in two-way trade in 2021. Taiwan is a major
hub of the global supply in electronics, computers, and information and
communication technologies, and has served a critical role in diversifying the U.S.
supply chain. Since 2020, Taiwan and the United States have engaged in the
U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, covering a broad range of
economic issues including 50 networks and telecommunications security, supply
chains resiliency, infrastructure cooperation, clean energy, global heath, and
science and technology - many of the same issues to be addressed by the
proposed IPEF.
Excluding Taiwan from IPEF would significantly distort the
regional and global economic architecture, run counter to U.S. economic
interests, and allow the Chinese government to claim that the international
community does not in fact support meaningful engagement with Taiwan.
It is also critical for U.S. security interests that Taiwan
is embedded in the region's economic architecture. The more economic engagement
the United States and allies and partners have with Taiwan, the stronger our
collective resilience against coercion. Russia' s invasion of Ukraine shows the
value of tangible economic support by the United States and like-minded allies
and partners, and the same is true for Taiwan. Including Taiwan in the IPEF
would be an invaluable signal of our rock-solid commitment to Taiwan and its
prosperity and freedom.
We ask that the administration engage with the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee on this issue,
including a briefing on Taiwan's status in IPEF, our economic engagement with
Taiwan since January 2021, the extent to which bolstering its economic
resilience is part of our broader security policy with respect to Taiwan, and
any tangible economic goals we are pursuing with Taiwan.
We appreciate your attention to this important issue and
look forward to your response.
Next Article Previous Article