SR 24

                            State of Vermont
                             Senate Chamber
                                     Montpelier, Vermont
                                   Senate Resolution
  Offered by All Members of the Senate,
   S.R. 24. Senate resolution relating to reaffirming the abiding friendship between the State of
Vermont and the Republic of China (Taiwan) on the 27th anniversary of the Vermont-Taiwan sister-
state relationship and supporting enhanced Vermont-Taiwan bilateral relations and Taiwan's
participation in international organizations.
   Whereas, the United States and Taiwan share a vibrant and mutually beneficial bilateral
relationship, based on their shared values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and a free market
economy, and
   Whereas, the U.S. government has encouraged economic, including trade, and cultural engagements
and exchanges between the American and Taiwanese peoples, particularly at the state level, and
   Whereas, in 2022, the United States and Taiwan launched the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-
Century Trade to strengthen the two nations’ economic and trade relationship, and, in 2023, Congress
enacted the United States-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade First Agreement Implementation
Act, Pub. L. No. 118-13, approving the first agreement under this initiative, and
  Whereas, in 2025, Taiwan was America’s fourth-largest trading partner, with U.S. exports valued at
$54.7 billion and imports from Taiwan worth roughly $201.4 billion; and for the first time in over a
quarter century, the United States was Taiwan’s largest export market; and in the agriculture sector,
U.S. exports to Taiwan totaled approximately $2.3 billion, and
  Whereas, 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the United States’ establishment as a republic based
on democratic principles and the 30th anniversary of Taiwan’s first direct presidential election,
symbolizing this Asian nation’s enduring commitment to democracy, and
   Whereas, in 1999, the State of Vermont and Taiwan entered a sister-state relationship that has
proven mutually beneficial in many ways, and
   Whereas, the 2020 driver’s license reciprocity agreement between the State of Vermont and Taiwan
exemplifies the sister-state relationship in action, and
   Whereas, in 2025, Vermont exports to Taiwan were worth approximately $268 million, meaning
Taiwan was Vermont’s most valuable Asian export destination, and second worldwide, and Vermont
imported an estimated $76 million worth of goods from Taiwan, and
   Whereas, establishing a Vermont trade office in Taiwan would further enhance this already
successful and long-standing trade relationship, and
   Whereas, the government of Taiwan has expressed interest in establishing memorandums of
understanding with the State of Vermont, one pertaining to economic affairs to establish a clearer
structural framework for the two jurisdictions’ burgeoning business ties and a second related to
education to expand educational exchanges and cooperation, particularly with respect to Mandarin
language teaching, and
  Whereas, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, which the General Assembly of the
United Nations adopted on October 25, 1971, replaced the government of Chiang Kai-shek with the
government of the People’s Republic of China as the exclusive Chinese representative at the United
Nations and in all organizations associated with the United Nations, and
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  Whereas, the controlling factor for U.S. government advocacy of support of a public position is
American law, and
   Whereas, in 1979, Congress enacted the Taiwan Relations Act, Pub. L. No. 96-8, which broadly
addresses the U.S.-Taiwan relationship, and one of its provisions “provides for the continued
membership of the people on Taiwan in any international financial institution or any other
international organization,” and
   Whereas, Taiwan’s participation and contributions in international organizations such as the
International Civil Aviation Organization, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change would greatly benefit the United States and the
international community, now therefore be it
   Resolved by the Senate:
    That the Senate of the State of Vermont reaffirms the abiding friendship between the State of
Vermont and the Republic of China (Taiwan) on the 27th anniversary of the Vermont-Taiwan sister-
state relationship and supports enhanced Vermont-Taiwan bilateral relations and Taiwan’s participation
in international organizations, and be it further
   Resolved: That the Secretary of the Senate be directed to send a copy of this resolution to President
Donald J. Trump; President Lai Ching-te of the Republic of China (Taiwan); Director-General Charles
Liao of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston; Governor Philip B. Scott; and the Vermont
Congressional Delegation.
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