H.R. 3563 — Taiwan PLUS Act

This section sets forth 12 congressional findings concerning Taiwan's status as the seventh-largest U.S. trading partner in goods; its treatment by the United States as a major non-NATO ally for purposes of defense transfers under section 1206 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (22 U.S.C. 2321k note); U.S. defense sales to Taiwan, including over $41 billion in Foreign Military Sales (FMS) notifications since 2010 (and over $56 billion since 2001), with Taiwan as the largest FMS customer in FY2020 and third-largest from FY1950 through FY2020 (tied with Japan); specific defense articles provided since 2017 (e.g., HIMARS, F-16 C/D jets, Harpoon systems); and recommendations to prioritize Taiwan's asymmetric defense capabilities and timely FMS responses.

This section states the sense of Congress that enhanced defense cooperation with Taiwan is critical to U.S. national security—including by designating Taiwan as a member of the “NATO Plus” community of states (currently comprising Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Israel, and New Zealand) with respect to Foreign Military Sales to Taiwan and all other associated rights, privileges, and responsibilities—and that Taiwan should receive such designation.

This section treats Taiwan as if it were a country listed in specified provisions of the Arms Export Control Act—covering prerequisites for defense article sales (22 U.S.C. 2753), foreign military sales procedures (22 U.S.C. 2761), congressional notification requirements for proposed sales (22 U.S.C. 2776), and certain export provisions (22 U.S.C. 2796a(c)(1) and 2796b(a)(2))—for purposes of applying and administering those provisions during the five-year period beginning on the date of enactment. (As background, these provisions generally afford streamlined sales processes, expedited licensing, reduced or waived notifications, and other benefits to U.S. allies such as NATO members, Australia, Japan, and Israel.) The Secretary of State may extend this treatment for additional successive five-year periods upon determining that it serves U.S. national security interests and notifying the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at least 14 days prior to each extension.