Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Joe Manchin
May 18, 2022
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).
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.