,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #aj #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #iaj ,report ,no4 #aai-bj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #d1 #bjbe ,mrs4 ,kim 7for herself and ,mr4 ,green of ,texas7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services ,march #ba1 #bjbe ,additional sponsors3 ,mr4 ,lawler and ,mr4 ,lieu ,march #ba1 #bjbe ,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed ,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic ,for text of introduced bill1 see copy of bill as introduced on ,february #d1 #bjbe ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of the ,treasury to pursue more equitable treatment of ,taiwan at the international financial institutions1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,taiwan ,non-,discrimination ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds as follows3 7#a7 ,as enshrined in its ,articles of ,agreement1 the ,international ,monetary ,fund 7,,imf7 is devoted to promoting international monetary cooperation1 facilitating the expansion and balanced growth of international trade1 encouraging exchange stability1 and avoiding competitive exchange depreciation4 7#b7 ,taiwan is the #bast largest economy in the world and the #ajth largest goods trading partner of the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,although ,taiwan is not an ,,imf member1 it is a member of the ,world ,trade ,organization1 the ,asian ,development ,bank1 and the ,asia-,pacific ,economic ,cooperation forum4 7#d7 ,according to the ,january #bjbj ,report on ,macroeconomic and ,foreign ,exchange ,policies of ,major ,trading ,partners of the ,united ,states1 published by the ,department of the ,treasury1 ,taiwan held #dga1ijj1jjj1jjj in foreign exchange reserves1 more than major economies such as ,india1 ,south ,korea1 and ,brazil4 7#e7 ,according to section #d7;d7 of the ,taiwan ,relations ,act 7,public ,law #if-h71 enacted on ,april #aj1 #aigi1 ,nothing in this ,act may be construed as a basis for supporting the exclusion or expulsion of ,taiwan from continued membership in any international financial institution or any other international organization44 7#f7 ,taiwan held membership in the ,,imf for #i years following the recognition of the ,people's ,republic of ,china 7,,prc7 by the ,united ,nations1 and #af ,taiwan staff members at the ,fund were allowed to continue their employment after the ,,prc was seated at the ,,imf in #aihj4 ,as ,james ,m4 ,boughton has noted in his ,silent ,revolution3 ,the ,international ,monetary ,fund #aigi-aihi1 even as the ,,prc was seated1 the ,united ,states ,executive ,director to the ,,imf1 ,sam ,y4 ,cross1 expressed support on behalf of the ,united ,states ,government for some kind of association between ,taiwan and the ,fund4 7#g7 ,on ,september #bg1 #aiid1 in testimony before the ,senate ,committee on ,foreign ,relations regarding the #aiid ,taiwan ,policy ,review1 then-,assistant ,secretary of ,state for ,east ,asian and ,pacific ,affairs ,winston ,lord stated3 ,recognizing ,taiwan's important role in transnational issues1 we will support its membership in organizations where statehood is not a prerequisite1 and we will support opportunities for ,taiwan's voice to be heard in organizations where its membership is not possible44 7#h7 ,the ,congress has repeatedly reaffirmed support for this policy1 including in ,public ,laws #ajg-aj1 #ajg-aeh1 #ajh-bh1 #ajh-bce1 #aac-ag1 and #aad-aci1 and the unanimous ,house and ,senate passage of the ,taiwan ,allies ,international ,protection and ,enhancement ,initiative 7,,taipei7 ,act of #bjai4 7#i7 ,in its fact sheet1 entitled ,u4,s4 ,relations with ,taiwan1 published on ,august #ca1 #bjah1 the ,department of ,state asserts3 ,the ,united ,states supports ,taiwan's membership in international organizations that do not require statehood as a condition of membership and encourages ,taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations where its membership is not possible44 7#aj7 ,according to the ,articles of ,agreement of the ,,imf1 membership shall be open to other countries1 subject to conditions prescribed by the ,board of ,governors of the ,,imf4 7#aa7 ,in the ,,imf publication ,membership and ,nonmembership in the ,international ,monetary ,fund3 ,a ,study in ,international ,law and ,organization1 ,joseph ,gold1 the then-,general ,counsel and ,director of the ,legal ,department of the ,,imf1 elaborated on the differences between the terms countries and states1 noting that the word country may have been adopted because of the absence of agreement on the definition of a state and1 with respect to the use of countries and applications for ,,imf membership1 the absence of any adjective in the ,articles emphasizes the breadth of the discretion that the ,fund may exercise in admitting countries to membership4 ,according to ,mr4 ,gold1 the desire to give the ,fund flexibility in dealing with applications may explain not only the absence of any adjective that qualifies countries but also the choice of that word itself4 7#ab7 ,in his ,,imf study1 ,mr4 ,gold further observes1 in the practice of the ,fund the concepts of independence and sovereignty have been avoided on the whole as a mode of expressing a criterion for membership in the ,fund4 ,he continues1 ,although the ,fund usually takes into account the recognition or nonrecognition of an entity as a state1 there are no rules or even informal understandings on the extent to which an applicant must have been recognized by members or other international organizations before the ,fund will regard it as eligible for membership44 ,in fact1 when considering an application for membership where the status of an applicant may not be resolved1 ,mr4 ,gold writes there have been occasions on which the ,fund has made a finding before decisions had been taken by the ,united ,nations or by most members or by members with a majority of the total voting power4 ,mr4 ,gold concludes1 the ,fund makes its own findings on whether an applicant is a country1 and makes them solely for its own purposes44 7#ac7 ,although not a member state of the ,united ,nations1 the ,republic of ,kosovo is a member of both the ,,imf and the ,world ,bank1 having joined both organizations on ,june #bi1 #bjji4 7#ad7 ,on ,october #bf1 #bjba1 ,secretary of ,state ,antony ,blinken issued a statement in support of ,taiwan's robust1 meaningful participation in the ,united ,nations system1 which includes the ,,imf1 the ,world ,bank1 and other specialized ,united ,nations agencies4 ,secretary of ,state ,blinken noted1 ,as the international community faces an unprecedented number of complex and global issues1 it is critical for all stakeholders to help address these problems4 ,this includes the #bd million people who live in ,taiwan4 ,taiwan's meaningful participation in the ,,un system is not a political issue1 but a pragmatic one44 ,he continued1 ,taiwan's exclusion undermines the important work of the ,,un and its related bodies1 all of which stand to benefit greatly from its contributions44 7#ae7 ,in ,october #bjbd1 ,taiwan announced it would seek ,,imf membership1 with the ,taipei ,economic and ,cultural ,representative ,office in the ,united ,states stating1 ,taiwan's membership at the ,,imf would help boost financial resilience44 #c4 ,sense of the ,congress ,it is the sense of the ,congress that-- 7#a7 the size1 significance1 and connectedness of the ,taiwanese economy highlight the importance of greater participation by ,taiwan in the ,international ,monetary ,fund1 given the purposes of the ,fund articulated in its ,articles of ,agreement2 and 7#b7 the experience of ,taiwan in developing a vibrant and advanced economy under democratic governance and the rule of law should inform the work of the international financial institutions1 including through increased participation by ,taiwan in the institutions4 #d4 ,support for ,taiwan admission to the ,,imf 7a7 ,in general ,the ,united ,states ,governor of the ,international ,monetary ,fund 7in this section referred to as the ,fund7 shall use the voice and vote of the ,united ,states to vigorously support-- 7#a7 the admission of ,taiwan as a member of the ,fund1 to the extent that admission is sought by ,taiwan2 7#b7 participation by ,taiwan in regular surveillance activities of the ,fund with respect to the economic and financial policies of ,taiwan1 consistent with ,article ,,iv consultation procedures of the ,fund2 7#c7 employment opportunities for ,taiwan nationals1 without regard to any consideration that1 in the determination of the ,united ,states ,governor1 does not generally restrict the employment of nationals of member countries of the ,fund2 and 7#d7 the ability of ,taiwan to receive appropriate technical assistance and training by the ,fund4 7b7 ,united ,states policy ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states not to discourage or otherwise deter ,taiwan from seeking admission as a member of the ,fund4 7c7 ,waiver ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury may waive any requirement of subsection 7a7 for up to #a year at a time on reporting to ,congress that providing the waiver will substantially promote the objective of securing the meaningful participation of ,taiwan at each international financial institution 7as defined in section #agja7;c77#b7 of the ,international ,financial ,institutions ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfbr7c77#b7774 7d7 ,sunset ,this section shall have no force or effect on the earlier of-- 7#a7 the date of approval by the ,board of ,governors of the ,fund for the admission of ,taiwan as a member of the ,fund2 or 7#b7 the date that is #aj years after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #e4 ,testimony requirement ,in each of the next #g years in which the ,secretary of the ,treasury is required by section #agje7;b7 of the ,international ,financial ,institutions ,act to present testimony1 the ,secretary shall include in the testimony a description of the efforts of the ,united ,states to support the greatest participation practicable by ,taiwan at each international financial institution 7as defined in section #agja7;c77#b7 of such ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfbr7c77#b7774 ,march #ba1 #bjbe ,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed