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Arizona Senate adopts resolution backing stronger U.S.–Taiwan trade ties
Summary
The Arizona Senate on March 26 adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 1039 supporting negotiation of a U.S.–Taiwan bilateral trade agreement and Taiwan’s participation in selected international organizations; the resolution cites trade and investment ties, including large TSMC investments in Phoenix.
The Arizona Senate unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 1039 on March 26, endorsing negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement between the United States and Taiwan and urging support for Taiwan’s participation in selected international organizations.
The resolution, introduced during a point of personal privilege by Senator Kavanaugh and read into the record, cites U.S.–Taiwan goods trade of about $127.8 billion in 2023, with $40 billion in U.S. exports and $87.8 billion in imports. It notes that Taiwan was Arizona’s eighth-largest export market in 2023 and that Taiwanese-affiliated activity supports “more than 7,895 jobs in Arizona,” according to the text read on the Senate floor. The text also highlights the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) expanded investment in Phoenix—described in the resolution as increasing from $12 billion to $65 billion to construct three advanced fabs and creating “10,000 high-paying and high-tech jobs, including 4,500 direct TSMC jobs in Arizona over multiple years.”
The resolution lists several federal actions and statements concerning Taiwan, as recited on the floor, and urges that members of the Arizona Legislature “support the negotiation of the United States–Taiwan bilateral trade agreement” and “support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the United Nations system, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),” and it expresses support for Taiwan’s inclusion in Interpol and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
Senator Kavanaugh moved that the resolution be unanimously adopted; the presiding officer called for the ayes and declared the ayes have it. The secretary was instructed to record the action and transmit the resolution to the Arizona House of Representatives.
Why it matters: The resolution signals the Arizona Legislature’s formal support for deeper economic ties with Taiwan and for Taiwan’s expanded participation in international organizations, and it highlights the state-level economic linkages—most prominently TSMC’s Phoenix investments—that the resolution’s sponsors cited as context for that support.
Additional procedural note: The resolution was adopted in open session and will be transmitted to the House of Representatives for concurrence or further action.
