Vermont SR 25: Senate resolution 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

Bill Text

VTLEG#388356 v.1
State of Vermont
Senate Chamber
Montpelier, Vermont
Senate Resolution
Offered by Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs,
S.R. 25. Senate resolution 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

VTLEG#388356 v.1
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.