US House approves Taiwan trade deal, demands future oversight

Name: US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, despite Beijing’s warnings
Uploaded: 2023-06-21T23:54:16.000Z
Duration: 3 min 10 s
Description: US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, despite Beijing’s warnings

Lawmakers reassert their authority over trade policy in demanding they be consulted on upcoming negotiations with Taipei

Congress has increasingly signalled its desire for the US to step up economic engagement with Taiwan

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Containers are moved onto a cargo ship at the Port of Keelung in Taiwan. Photo: AFP

Bochen Hanin Washington

Published: 7:54am, 22 Jun 2023Updated: 8:01am, 22 Jun 2023

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to approve the first agreement signed under the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade and to require congressional consultation for future negotiations.

The agreement, signed on June 1 under a framework for bilateral talks launched last year, covers streamlining customs procedures, combating corruption and helping small businesses navigate regulatory procedures in both markets. It broadly aims to strengthen the US-Taiwan trade and economic relationship, but does not include any market access provisions.

Observers say the bill, which passed by voice vote and now moves to the Senate, is as much about asserting congressional authority over trade policy as it is about showing support for enhanced economic engagement with Taiwan.

While the administration has the authority to negotiate such agreements if they don’t require a change to US law, the political balance between executive decision-making and congressional oversight “is out of whack”, said Clete Willems, a partner at the Washington-based law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

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US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, despite Beijing’s warnings

Willems said Wednesday’s bill helped fill a void left by the expiration of trade promotion authority laws that guided the administration in negotiating deals. The Biden administration has not asked Congress for such authority, which is required to negotiate trade agreements with market access components.

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