Sec. 2. FINDINGS

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## SEC. 2 FINDINGS Congress finds the following: ####

(1)As a leading democracy, Taiwan is a key partner of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region. ####

(2)The United States and Taiwan share democratic values, deep commercial and economic ties, and strong people-to-people connections. Those links serve as the impetus for expanding engagement by the United States with Taiwan. ####

(3)Taiwan is the eighth-largest trading partner of the United States and the United States is the second-largest trading partner of Taiwan. ####

(4)Since 2020, the United States and Taiwan, under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan

(AIT)and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), have held an economic prosperity partnership dialogue to enhance economic and commercial ties between the United States and Taiwan, including with respect to supply chain security and resiliency, investment screening, health, science, and technology, and the digital economy. ####

(5)On June 1, 2022, the United States and Taiwan launched the United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade to deepen our economic and trade relationship, advance mutual trade priorities based on shared values, promote innovation, and support inclusive economic growth for workers and businesses. ####

(6)On August 17, 2022, the United States and Taiwan announced the negotiating mandate for formal trade negotiations under the United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade and agreed to seek high-standard commitments. ####

(7)Article I, section 8, clause 3 of the Constitution of the United States grants Congress authority over international trade. The President lacks the authority to enter into binding trade agreements absent approval from Congress. ####

(8)Congressional approval of the United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement will ensure that the agreement, and the trade relationship between the United States and Taiwan more broadly, will be durable. A durable trade agreement will foster sustained economic growth and give workers, consumers, businesses, farmers, ranchers, and other stakeholders assurance that commercial ties between the United States and Taiwan will be long-lasting and reliable.