SLS 20RS-461 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 47
BY SENATOR PEACOCK
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Encourages further economic ties and friendship between
Louisiana and the Republic of China (Taiwan).
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To encourage further economic ties and friendship between the state of Louisiana and the
3 Republic of China (Taiwan).
4 WHEREAS, for decades the United States of America and the Republic of China
5 (Taiwan) have fostered a close relationship of enormous mutual economic, cultural, and
6 strategic benefit; and
7 WHEREAS, bilateral trade between the United States and Taiwan reached $85.5
8 billion in 2019, making Taiwan the tenth largest trading partner of the United States; and
9 WHEREAS, both nations could realize further economic gains through establishing
10 a free trade agreement and by enhancing platforms of the Trade and Investment Framework
11 Agreement (TIFA) and Digital Economy Forum (DEF); and
12 WHEREAS, for decades, Taiwanese companies, including Formosa Plastics
13 Corporation, Formosa Petrochemical Corporation, Nan Ya Plastic Corporation, Westlake
14 Chemical Corporation, and CPC Corporation, have announced multi-billion dollar
15 investments in Louisiana; and
16 WHEREAS, Taiwan has been routinely dispatching a substantial delegation to
17 participate in the SelectUSA Investment Summit since 2013; and
18 WHEREAS, United States exports to Taiwan, combined with Taiwan's investment
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1 in the United States, support over 370,000 well-paying jobs; and
2 WHEREAS, Taiwan imported nearly $4.3 billion worth of United States farm
3 products in 2018, and in 2019, the Taiwan Agricultural Trade Goodwill Mission to the
4 United States signed letters of intent on soybeans, corn, wheat, and meat, for the purchase
5 of United States grains worth $2.7 billion and beef worth $960 million in 2020-2021; and
6 WHEREAS, Taiwan is a beacon of democracy in Asia, rated as "free" by Freedom
7 House twenty-one years in a row; and
8 WHEREAS, on January 11, 2020, the people of Taiwan made history with nearly
9 seventy-five percent of eligible voters participating in the general election, and proving to
10 the world that democracy works as President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President-elect Lai
11 Ching-te were elected to office with historic voter turnout of 8.17 million voters; and
12 WHEREAS, the World Economic Forum's 2019 Global Competitiveness Report
13 rated Taiwan twelfth among one hundred forty-one economies and recognized Taiwan's
14 innovation capability as one of the top four in the world, resulting from wide-ranging
15 regulatory efforts to build an environment conducive to financial sector development and
16 foreign direct investment, and underscoring the impact of Taiwan's 5+2 industrial innovation
17 initiative targeting the high-growth sectors of biotech and pharmaceuticals, green energy,
18 national defense, smart machinery, and Internet of Things as well as the circular economy
19 and a new agriculture; and
20 WHEREAS, the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 has continued to provide a sturdy
21 foundation for robust U.S.-Taiwan relations to flourish for forty-one years; and
22 WHEREAS, both countries have affirmed their partnership in areas of international
23 humanitarian assistance, public health, and technology under the Global Cooperation and
24 Training Framework (GCTF) established in June of 2015, and the Taiwan Travel Act of
25 2018 to encourage high-level officials' visits between the United States and Taiwan; and
26 WHEREAS, this year marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Louisiana-Taiwan
27 sister-state relations, which have nurtured and maintained a friendship built upon
28 unwavering bonds beneficial and rewarding for both governments and their citizens now and
29 in the future; and
30 WHEREAS, travel from Taiwan to the United States has increased by approximately
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1 sixty percent since Taiwan's participation in the United States Visa Waiver program; and
2 WHEREAS, in November of 2017, Taiwan joined the United States Global Entry
3 program with the hope that such efforts will continue to promote tourism and encourage
4 exchanges between the two nations; and
5 WHEREAS, since nontraditional security threats are increasing, the meaningful
6 participation and inclusion of Taiwan to the International Criminal Police Organization
7 (INTERPOL), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations
8 Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the World Health Organization
9 (WHO) would be beneficial to all nations and their people.
10 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
11 encourage closer economic relationships between the United States and Taiwan by
12 negotiating a free trade agreement between the two countries, commends Taiwan's inclusion
13 in the United States Global Entry and Visa Waiver program to encourage economic and
14 cultural exchanges, supports Taiwan's meaningful participation in the INTERPOL, ICAO,
15 UNFCCC, and WHO, and celebrates the thirty-fifth anniversary of the sister-state
16 relationship between Louisiana and Taiwan.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
18 Mr. Peter C.Y. Chen, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in
19 Houston, Texas, and the members of the Capitol Press Corps.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Michelle Ridge.
DIGEST
SCR 47 Original 2020 Regular Session Peacock
Encourages closer economic ties and friendship between Louisiana and Taiwan.
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