US House approves Taiwan trade deal, demands future oversight

INA-  Sources

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.
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.
The legislation was announced earlier this month by bipartisan leaders in the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.
Representative Jason Smith, the sponsor of the House bill and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said Wednesday: “The relationship between the United States and Taiwan is vital to US interest in the Indo-Pacific.”


Source: South China Morning Post