WHEREAS, there is near universal consensus among American policy makers on both sides of the aisle that the United States needs to assess and reduce supply chain vulnerabilities; and

WHEREAS, this concept was most recently articulated in a White House Review pursuant to Presidential Executive Order 14017 on “America’s Supply Chains” that recognizes that, “More resilient supply chains are essential for our national security, our economic security, and our technological leadership;” and

WHEREAS, the Review observed that, “Small failures at even one point in supply chains can impact America’s security, jobs, families, and communities;” and

WHEREAS, structural weaknesses in both domestic and international supply chains threaten America’s economic and national security and has geostrategic implications; and

WHEREAS, strengthening the resilience of American supply chains will advance US economic and national security objectives; and

WHEREAS, just the shortage of semiconductors led to significant disruptions in the manufacturing sector, most notably in the auto industry, and was partially responsible for disappointing job creation totals in the US during the first half of 2021; and

WHEREAS, businesses have already begun the process of diversifying their supply chains to more reliable and sustainable partners; and

WHEREAS, the Review pursuant to Presidential Executive Order 14017 specifically identified semiconductor manufacturing as a critical industry and identified working “with America’s allies and partners to strengthen supply chain resilience” as a tactic to bolster America’s supply chain security; and

WHEREAS, the US and Taiwan enjoy a longstanding economic and strategic partnership centered on shared values that include common commitments to free markets, human rights, and democracy; and

WHEREAS, Taiwan is the United States’ ninth largest trading partner; and

WHEREAS, both the US and Taiwan have faced supply chain challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, Taiwanese firms across various industry sectors have shown a heightened interest in getting their supply chains closer to their US customers and have demonstrated a readiness to cooperate closely on global supply chains and promote business engagement in areas such as 5G, infrastructure, health, and securing high-tech supply chains; and

WHEREAS, American and Taiwanese commercial competencies are often complementary rather than competitive making Taiwan and ideal partner for supply chain diversification; and

WHEREAS, Taiwan offers integrated supply chains and significant manufacturing capabilities for information & communication technology (ICT) products including but not limited to semiconductors; and

WHEREAS, Taiwan’s ICT products made up 17% of the global market share in 2019, only second to America’s 44.6% market share; and

WHEREAS, thirteen of the top 100 global technology leaders are Taiwanese firms, which is the second highest ranking after the United States; and

WHEREAS, both the US and Taiwan share a commitment to protecting commerce ecosystems that are open, democratic, and sustainable for business operations and Taiwan has fostered a commercial ecosystem that is rules-based and inherently free market; and

WHEREAS, integrating US-Taiwan commercial development will help the United States secure international leadership in the technologies of tomorrow including AI, 5G and autonomous vehicles in accordance with the September 2020 Congressional China Task Force Report; and

WHEREAS, this supply chain relocation effort will better secure supply chains and create new business opportunities for both democracies; and

WHEREAS, the Review pursuant to Presidential Executive Order 14017 recommends “a focus on building trade and investment partnerships with nations who share our values – valuing human dignity, worker rights, environmental protection, and democracy,” and that Taiwan meets all of these criteria.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, this legislative chamber encourages cooperation between US and Taiwanese companies in critical industry sectors including ICT, semiconductor, autonomous vehicles and 5G in order to enhance global supply chain security for both sovereign democracies.