Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Hugh Hewitt of The Hugh Hewitt Show
![Taiwan [Shutterstock]](https://2017-2021.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Taiwan-2106x1406.jpg)
International Travel Information
What you need to know before you go: visas, Embassy & Consulate locations, vaccinations, etc.
International Travel Information: Learn MoreHighlights
Inaugural U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue
Taipei, Taiwan: Taipei American School: 2020-2021 Fact Sheet
U.S. Relationship
U.S.-Taiwan Relations
The U.S. and Taiwan enjoy a robust unofficial relationship. The 1979 U.S.-P.R.C. Joint Communique switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing. In the Joint Communique, the U.S. recognized the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China, acknowledging the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China. The Joint Communique also stated that the people of the U.S. will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) is responsible for implementing U.S. policy toward Taiwan.
Economic Relations
The U.S. has maintained and enhanced its commercial ties with Taiwan since 1979. Taiwan is the United States’ ninth largest trading partner, and the U.S. is Taiwan’s second largest trading partner. Taiwan enjoys Export-Import Bank financing, Overseas Private Investment Corporation guarantees, normal trade relations status, and ready access to U.S. markets. AIT has been engaged in a series of trade discussions that have focused on protection of intellectual property rights and market access for U.S. goods and services. The U.S. has a trade and investment framework agreement with Taiwan under the auspices of AIT and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the U.S. As of 2013, companies from Taiwan employed more than 12,000 workers in the U.S. with total worker compensation of almost a billion dollars.