Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act of 2021
This bill requires actions to support Taiwan's participation in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The U.S. Governor of the IMF must advocate for (1) Taiwan's admission into the IMF as a member, (2) Taiwan's participation in the IMF's regular surveillance activities relating to Taiwan's economic and financial policies, (3) employment opportunities at the IMF for Taiwan nationals, and (4) Taiwan's ability to receive IMF technical assistance and training.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6029 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6029
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to pursue more equitable
treatment of Taiwan at the international financial institutions, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 18, 2021
Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio (for himself and Mr. Green of Texas) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to pursue more equitable
treatment of Taiwan at the international financial institutions, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) As enshrined in its Articles of Agreement, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) is devoted to promoting
international monetary cooperation, facilitating the expansion
and balanced growth of international trade, encouraging
exchange stability, and avoiding competitive exchange
depreciation.
(2) Taiwan is the 21st largest economy in the world and the
10th largest goods trading partner of the United States.
(3) Although Taiwan is not an IMF member, it is a member of
the World Trade Organization, the Asian Development Bank, and
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
(4) According to the January 2020 Report on Macroeconomic
and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the
United States, published by the Department of the Treasury,
Taiwan held $471,900,000,000 in foreign exchange reserves, more
than major economies such as India, South Korea, and Brazil.
(5) According to section 4(d) of the Taiwan Relations Act
(Public Law 96-8), enacted on April 10, 1979, ``Nothing in this
Act may be construed as a basis for supporting the exclusion or
expulsion of Taiwan from continued membership in any
international financial institution or any other international
organization.''.
(6) Taiwan held membership in the IMF for 9 years following
the recognition of the People's Republic of China (PRC) by the
United Nations, and 16 Taiwan staff members at the Fund were
allowed to continue their employment after the PRC was seated
at the IMF in 1980. As James M. Boughton has noted in his
Silent Revolution: The International Monetary Fund 1979-1989,
even as the PRC was seated, the United States Executive
Director to the IMF, Sam Y. Cross, expressed support on behalf
of the United States government for ``some kind of association
between Taiwan and the Fund''.
(7) On September 27, 1994, in testimony before the Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations regarding the 1994 Taiwan Policy
Review, then-Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and
Pacific Affairs Winston Lord stated: ``Recognizing Taiwan's
important role in transnational issues, we will support its
membership in organizations where statehood is not a
prerequisite, and we will support opportunities for Taiwan's
voice to be heard in organizations where its membership is not
possible.''.
(8) The Congress has repeatedly reaffirmed support for this
policy, including in Public Laws 107-10, 107-158, 108-28, 108-
235, 113-17, and 114-139, and the unanimous House and Senate
passage of the Taiwan Allies International Protection and
Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019.
(9) In its fact sheet, entitled ``U.S. Relations with
Taiwan'', published on August 31, 2018, the Department of State
asserts: ``The United States supports Taiwan's membership in
international organizations that do not require statehood as a
condition of membership and encourages Taiwan's meaningful
participation in international organizations where its
membership is not possible.''.
(10) According to the Articles of Agreement of the IMF,
``membership shall be open to other countries'', subject to
conditions prescribed by the Board of Governors of the IMF.
(11) In the IMF publication ``Membership and Nonmembership
in the International Monetary Fund: A Study in International
Law and Organization'', Joseph Gold, the then-General Counsel
and Director of the Legal Department of the IMF, elaborated on
the differences between the terms ``countries'' and ``states'',
noting that ``the word `country' may have been adopted because
of the absence of agreement on the definition of a `state'''
and, with respect to the use of ``countries'' and applications
for IMF membership, ``the absence of any adjective in the
Articles emphasizes the breadth of the discretion that the Fund
may exercise in admitting countries to membership''. According
to Mr. Gold, ``the desire to give the Fund flexibility in
dealing with applications may explain not only the absence of
any adjective that qualifies `countries' but also the choice of
that word itself''.
(12) In his IMF study, Mr. Gold further observes, ``in the
practice of the Fund the concepts of independence and
sovereignty have been avoided on the whole as a mode of
expressing a criterion for membership in the Fund''. He
continues, ``Although the Fund usually takes into account the
recognition or nonrecognition of an entity as a state, there
are no rules or even informal understandings on the extent to
which an applicant must have been recognized by members or
other international organizations before the Fund will regard
it as eligible for membership.''. In fact, when considering an
application for membership where the status of an applicant may
not be resolved, Mr. Gold writes ``there have been occasions on
which the Fund has made a finding before decisions had been
taken by the United Nations or by most members or by members
with a majority of the total voting power.'' Mr. Gold
concludes, ``the Fund makes its own findings on whether an
applicant is a `country', and makes them solely for its own
purposes.''.
(13) Although not a member state of the United Nations, the
Republic of Kosovo is a member of both the IMF and the World
Bank, having joined both organizations on June 29, 2009.
(14) On October 26, 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken
issued a statement in support of Taiwan's ``robust, meaningful
participation'' in the United Nations system, which includes
the IMF, the World Bank, and other specialized United Nations
agencies. Secretary of State Blinken noted, ``As the
international community faces an unprecedented number of
complex and global issues, it is critical for all stakeholders
to help address these problems. This includes the 24 million
people who live in Taiwan. Taiwan's meaningful participation in
the UN system is not a political issue, but a pragmatic one.''.
He continued, ``Taiwan's exclusion undermines the important
work of the UN and its related bodies, all of which stand to
benefit greatly from its contributions.''.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that--
(1) the size, significance, and connectedness of the
Taiwanese economy highlight the importance of greater
participation by Taiwan in the International Monetary Fund,
given the purposes of the Fund articulated in its Articles of
Agreement; and
(2) the experience of Taiwan in developing a vibrant and
advanced economy under democratic governance and the rule of
law should inform the work of the international financial
institutions, including through increased participation by
Taiwan in the institutions.
SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR TAIWAN ADMISSION TO THE IMF.
(a) In General.--The United States Governor of the International
Monetary Fund (in this section referred to as the ``Fund'') shall use
the voice and vote of the United States to vigorously support--
(1) the admission of Taiwan as a member of the Fund;
(2) participation by Taiwan in regular surveillance
activities of the Fund with respect to the economic and
financial policies of Taiwan, consistent with Article IV
consultation procedures of the Fund;
(3) employment opportunities for Taiwan nationals, without
regard to any consideration that, in the determination of the
United States Governor, does not generally restrict the
employment of nationals of member countries of the Fund; and
(4) the ability of Taiwan to receive appropriate technical
assistance and training by the Fund.
(b) Waiver.--The Secretary of the Treasury may waive any
requirement of subsection (a) for 1 year at a time on reporting to
Congress that providing the waiver will substantially promote the
objective of securing the meaningful participation of Taiwan at each
international financial institution (as defined in section 1701(c)(2)
of the International Financial Institutions Act).
(c) Sunset.--This section shall have no force or effect on the
earlier of--
(1) the date of approval by the Board of Governors of the
Fund for the admission of Taiwan as a member of the Fund; or
(2) the date that is 10 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. TESTIMONY REQUIREMENT.
In each of the next 7 years in which the Secretary of the Treasury
is required by section 1705(b) of the International Financial
Institutions Act to present testimony, the Secretary shall include in
the testimony a description of the efforts of the United States to
support the greatest participation practicable by Taiwan at each
international financial institution (as defined in section 1701(c)(2)
of such Act).
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
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