On Thursday, local time, 24 U.S. Republican Congress members reintroduced a resolution calling on the Trump administration to restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, negotiate a bilateral free trade agreement between the two countries, and support Taiwan’s bids to join international organizations.
The effort was led by Wisconsin Representative Tom Tiffany and Pennsylvania Representative Scott Perry. Tiffany has proposed a similar resolution several times over the years, with the last attempt in January of 2023. In Thursday’s introduction, Tiffany called the U.S.’s current “One China” policy “outdated, outdated, counter-productive, and dishonest.” Further saying "Taiwan has never been under the control of the People’s Republic of China – not even for a single day. It is a free, democratic, and independent nation, and it is past time for U.S. policy to reflect this undeniable objective truth."
Substantively speaking, a joint resolution such as this has no legal effect, but is meant to reflect or express the opinions and positions of Congress on a specific issue. Even if it passes through both houses of Congress, it doesn’t require presidential approval, and so cannot directly affect policy.
Taiwanese legislators had mixed reviews in response to the news, which largely broke along party lines. DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) spoke hopefully, saying that the fact this resolution received backing reflects the current realities of U.S.-Taiwan relations, and expressed the hope of reducing barriers of all kinds between the two countries. DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) similarly thanked the U.S. lawmakers for their support, saying Taiwan would be carefully watching how the Trump administration would react if the resolution did pass.
While KMT Legislator Huan Jen (黃仁) agreed the revolution was a positive step, but expressed concerns about President Trump’s “unpredictable personality”, given the tenuous situation the U.S. is in with the international response to the administration’s tariff plan. Similarly, KMT Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) said that all support is good, given Trump’s individualistic governing style it was possible, even likely, that relations with Taiwan would be turned into a bargaining chip. Niu said the administration's review of the resolution would be the best tell for how to receive the news.