A “China Task Force” made up of Republican members of the US House of Representatives has recommended closer ties with Taiwan in a new report.
The report encourages the start of Taiwan-US trade talks as part of a US strategy to thwart China’s attempts to dominate world markets and become the center of the global economy.
Talk about potential trade negotiations between Taiwan and the US has resurfaced since August, when President Tsai Ing-wen announced an easing of restrictions on US meat products starting next year. The US State Department has already launched a dialogue mechanism as a prelude to trade talks.
The report also says that the United States’ Taiwan policy has stagnated since the passing of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. It recommends an overhaul in US Taiwan policy in line with Taiwan’s current importance to US national security. The report’s authors put forth six recommendations about ways to achieve such an overhaul. These include allowing Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the US, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, to change its name to the “Taiwan Representative Office” or something similar.
In addition, the report encourages the US Congress to pass several existing pro-Taiwan bills into law.