S. 2684 — United States - Taiwan Partnership in the Americas Act

This section states congressional findings that (1) Taiwan is a democratic U.S. partner whose diplomatic allies often share U.S. commitments to transparency, good governance, and human rights; (2) China has pressured Taiwan's remaining seven diplomatic allies in Latin America and the Caribbean to sever ties through opaque development deals and backroom pressure; and (3) the United States has an interest in ensuring those countries can make sovereign foreign policy decisions free from Chinese coercion or financial manipulation.

This section establishes U.S. policy (1) to support countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, (2) to counter efforts by the People's Republic of China to coerce or pressure governments in the region into breaking diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and (3) to deepen coordination with Taiwan on its development and economic engagement in the Western Hemisphere.

This section directs the Secretary of State to establish a mechanism to track and respond to infrastructure and development projects by the People's Republic of China in countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The mechanism must (1) identify projects that carry strategic risks or involve non-transparent financing, (2) coordinate appropriate U.S. diplomatic or technical responses to such projects, and (3) share relevant information with Congress and U.S. allies.

This section requires the Secretary of State to submit three types of reports to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and House Committee on Foreign Affairs regarding diplomatic relations between Latin American governments and Taiwan: (1) semiannual status reports on governments in Latin America that have taken steps to discontinue such relations; (2) within 30 days of determining that a government is taking steps to terminate relations with Taiwan, a report including a detailed plan to support maintenance of those relations; and (3) beginning 180 days after enactment and annually thereafter for five years, an unclassified report (with possible classified annex) assessing (A) the People's Republic of China's goals, investments, and interests in Latin American and Caribbean countries maintaining relations with Taiwan; (B) China's pressure tactics and influence campaigns in those countries; and (C) Department of State actions in the prior 12 months to support Taiwan's partners there and counter China's isolation efforts.

This section directs the Secretary of State to expand U.S. coordination with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with respect to Taiwan by (1) coordinating joint programming and technical cooperation with U.S. allies; (2) aligning public diplomacy efforts; and (3) encouraging collaboration between U.S. embassies and Taiwan's representative offices in Latin America and the Caribbean.