THE WHITE HOUSECORRESPONDENCE TRACKING WORKSHEET

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DATE RECEIVED: MAY 25, 1990

NAME OF CORRESPONDENT: MR. CHIN-MING HUA

SUBJECT: EXPRESSES CONCERN REGARDING THE UNFAIRTREATMENT TAIWAN HAS SUFFERED DURING ITSAPPLYING FOR THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADEAND TARIFF (GATT)

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ORG 90/05/25

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TAIWAN BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATIONOF AMERICA

5541 NICHOLSON LANE, #200ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND 20852

(301) 231-5477

President George Bush May 18, 1990White House1600 Penneylvania AvenueWashington B.C. 20001

Dear Mr. President:

As a group of loyal citizens to the United States, weappreciate very much your leadership and your kind patronage tothe Chinese-Americans in your administration.

Mr. President, as you know, the Republic of China (ROC) onTaiwan had been a close ally fighting hand in hand with theUnited States during the Second World War. Also, Taiwan hasplayed as an cooperative role that is constructive to the U.S.interests in its effort of leading to the economic prosperity andstrategic stability in the Pacific Asia. Thanks to its materialaffluence and robust economy, Taiwan has become the fifth largesttrade partner of the United States in the past several years.This economic relations, added by cultural exchanges, tends to bea solid basis for the furthering cooperation between Taiwan andthe United States in the future.

As Taiwan created an "economic miracle" during the 1970s and1980s, the ROC government is currently in the process of making a"political miracle" by accelerating its politicaldemocratization.

In this context, we strongly concern about the unfair treatTaiwan__has suffered during__its applying for_he General Agreementon Trade and TarifT (GATT) as a member. Taiwan's willingness tocontribute to the international economic community has beenruthlessly distorted without regard to its good performance inthat particular, arena. To remedy this unfair situation, we urgeyou, the President of the United States, to support Taiwan'seffort in entering the GATT. We are sure that your timely andvaluable support will be beneficial to the interest of the UnitedStates and also conducive to the future prosperity of thePacific-Asian economy.

Thank you for your attention and consideration on thismatter.

Sincerely yours,

Chin-ming Hua

DEPUTY UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVEEXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20506

Mr. Chin-ming HuaTaiwan Benevolent Association

of America5541 Nicholson Lane, #200Rockville, Maryland 20852

Dear Mr. Hua:

The President has asked me to follow-up on the White Houseresponse to your letter of May 18, 1990, concerning theapplication by Taiwan for accession to the deneral Agreement onTariffs and Trade (GATT). Taiwan's decision to submit a requestfor GATT contracting party status on January 1, 1990, was animportant development. With Taiwan's application, we have aunique opportunity to bring under GATT discipline one of the lastmajor market-price based trading entities outside the GATTsystem. The considerations you note in your letter clearlyillustrate the reasons that Taiwan's inclusion in the GATT systemwill benefit U.S. bilateral and multilateral trade goals.

Taiwan has tried to avoid political controversy by applying asthe Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, ratherthan under a more politically contentious title. Nevertheless,this request presents political difficulties. While the GATTdoes not require political sovereignty for GATT participation,the People's Republic of China strongly objects to considerationof Taiwan's request for GATT membership, equating this withpolitical recognition of the Taiwan regime. As a consequence,the GATT Contracting Parties have delayed placing the issue onthe Council agenda in order to reflect on the application and onhow it can be addressed in the GATT.

I continue to believe that the eventual accession of Taiwan tothe GATT will greatly benefit U.S. commercial and trade policyinterests, and the international trading system as a whole. Wewill work with other GATT contracting parties to address theproblems that face eventual initiation of the GATT review ofTaiwan's request, and we appreciate your continued support forour efforts.

Sincerely yours,

JLK:ckj

Julius L. Katz