On June 21, the House of Representatives passed a bill for Congress to formally approve of the first U.S.-Taiwan agreement under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade (USTI), as well as establish parameters for the negotiation of future agreements. In a new insight, Director of International Economic Policy Tori Smith discusses the importance of the U.S.-Taiwan trade relationship and walks through the legislation.

Key points:

• The United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement Implementation Act is novel because it would give the president authority similar to Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) for negotiations with one country, which could set a precedent for how future trade authority is shared between Congress and the administration.
• This legislation would set a path for future U.S.-Taiwan agreements on trade issues, and potentially set the stage for TPA for Taiwan and a future U.S.-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement that encompasses all bilateral trade and includes market access commitments.
• This legislation would also ensure the longevity of this and future agreements with Taiwan under the USTI.

Read the analysis