161 U.S. House members call for trade agreement with Taiwan

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/12/20
By: Chiang Chin-yeh and Matthew Mazzetta

Image taken from the U.S. House of Representative website

Washington, Dec. 19 (CNA) One hundred and sixty-one members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter Thursday to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer, urging him to open negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement with Taiwan.

The letter, signed by more than one third of the 435 House members across party lines, said an agreement would create jobs in the U.S. and reaffirm the country's continuing commitment to Taiwan.

Noting that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act that sets the framework for U.S.-Taiwan relations, the House members put forth economic and ideological arguments for pursuing such a bilateral trade deal.

In economic terms, Taiwan has become the U.S.' 11th largest trading partner, the 8th largest export market for U.S. agricultural products, a major purchaser of U.S. liquefied natural gas exports, and the supplier of a significant percentage of the semiconductors used by U.S. manufacturers, the House representatives wrote.    [FULL  STORY]

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