Vermont SR 12: Senate resolution relating to amending temporary Rule 10A of the Senate

Bill Text

VTLEG#381916 v.1
State of Vermont
Senate Chamber
Montpelier, Vermont
Senate Resolution
Offered by Senators Clarkson, Brock, Cummings, Ingalls, Major, Ram Hinsdale, Weeks and White,
S.R. 12. Senate resolution relating to reaffirming the friendship between the State of Vermont and Taiwan and
supporting enhanced Vermont-Taiwan bilateral relations and Taiwan's participation in international organizations.
Whereas, the United States and the Republic of China (Taiwan) share a vibrant, mutually beneficial bilateral
relationship based on our common values of freedom and a free-market economy, and the relationship is as strong as
it has ever been, and
Whereas, the January 2024 election of Dr. Lai Ching-te as the President of Taiwan demonstrates the vibrancy of
Taiwan’s democracy, and
Whereas, the United States is Taiwan’s second-largest trading partner and Taiwan is the United States’ seventh-
largest trading partner; in 2024, the two-way trade in goods between the United States and Taiwan totaled in excess of
$157 billion; and the United States is also the largest supplier of agricultural products to Taiwan, and
Whereas, in 2022, the United States and Taiwan launched, and in 2023 signed, the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st
Century Trade, which, in part, “is intended to develop concrete ways to deepen the economic and trade relationship,”
and the first agreement under the Initiative became effective in December 2024, and
Whereas, Taiwan is the second-largest export destination for Vermont goods, worth approximately $254 million,
and Vermont imported an estimated $55.3 million in goods from Taiwan, and
Whereas, the Government of Taiwan has expressed a desire to reach an avoidance of double taxation agreement
with the United States, which could increase Vermont’s exports to Taiwan, bilateral investment, and jobs in Vermont,
and
Whereas, Vermont and Taiwan have enjoyed a long history of productive bilateral relations, including entering into
a driver’s license reciprocity agreement in 2020, and the Government of Taiwan desires to establish a memorandum
of understanding with the State of Vermont to further increase educational exchanges and cooperation, and
Whereas, United States policy toward Taiwan is not based on United Nations Resolution 2758 of 1971, but rather
the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, which “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 both 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 friendship between the State of Vermont and Taiwan 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.