U.S. Senate passes bill supporting Taiwan, but obstacles remain
ROC Central News Agency
03/30/2022 12:49 PM
Taipei, March 30 (CNA) The U.S. Senate on Monday (U.S. time) passed an omnibus competitiveness bill that includes provisions to enhance military, cultural, and diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but obstacles remain in having the bill enacted into law.
The Senate approved the America COMPETES Act by a 68-28 margin after the House of Representatives passed an act of the same name by a 222-210 vote on Feb. 4.
The bill approved by the Senate, however, replaced the original content of the America COMPETES Act with that of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which the Senate passed on June 8, 2021.
Both bills are aimed at increasing U.S. competitiveness, in particular against China, with a significant emphasis on boosting scientific and engineering innovation, research and development, and production of advanced electronic components in the U.S.
There was considerable overlap between the USICA and the original contents of the America COMPETES Act, including on regional strategies to counter China.
But substantive differences also exist in several areas, including economic diplomacy, strategic and diplomatic matters, and multilateral strategies to bolster American power.
The House of Representatives is not expected to agree to the latest version approved by the Senate, meaning that the two bodies will have to negotiate a reconciliation of the bills they passed into a final version that can get 60 votes in the Senate and pass a divided House.
With respect to Taiwan, both bills generally reiterate U.S. support for Taiwan, recognizing Taiwan as a "vital part" of the U.S.' Indo-Pacific strategy and a vital national security interest of the United States.
They require the U.S. to reinforce its commitments to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the "Six Assurances," and conduct regular transfers of "defense articles" to enhance Taiwan's self-defense capabilities, in particular its efforts to develop and integrate asymmetric capabilities.
They both call on the U.S. secretary of state to consider establishing a "U.S.-Taiwan Cultural Exchange Foundation," "dedicated to deepening ties between the future leaders of Taiwan and the United States" and contain lengthy provisions on a "Taiwan Fellowship Program" to allow government officials to go to Taiwan for two years to learn Chinese.
There are key differences, however. The House-backed America COMPETES Act calls for negotiations on renaming Taiwan's representative office in the U.S. -- the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office -- while the Senate version does not.
It also includes a Taiwan Peace and Stability Act, which focuses specifically on enhancing deterrence measures in the Taiwan Strait, and a Taiwan International Solidarity Act that are not found in the Senate bill.
The Senate bill does call for ending the practice of referring to Taiwan's government as the "Taiwan authorities" and for ending restrictions on officials of the two sides to interact directly with each other or on Taiwan to display symbols of the Republic of China's sovereignty.
It goes on to stress, however, that these appeals should not be "construed as entailing restoration of diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) or altering the United States Government's position on Taiwan's international status."
No similar disclaimer is found in the House bill.
The TRA was enacted in 1979 to maintain commercial, cultural, and other unofficial relations between the U.S. and Taiwan after Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. The TRA also requires the U.S. "to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character."
The Six Assurances, which were given by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, include pledges not to set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan, not to hold prior consultations with China regarding arms sales to Taiwan, and not to play a mediation role between Taiwan and China.
In another key area of the bills, involving incentives for the production of semiconductors in the United States, the two bills offer similar language, but the House bill has been described as more aggressive in creating a new Supply Chain Resilience Program.
Overseas suppliers, such as Taiwan semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, have lobbied for foreign manufacturers to benefit from the measure, but it was not immediately clear if the two bills differed on this point.
(By Frances Huang and Luke Sabatier)
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