RS20365 -- Taiwan: Annual Arms Sales Process
Updated June 5, 2001

	Unofficial Talks Under the Taiwan Relations Act

The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) ( P.L. SuccessiveAdministrations used a process in determining arms sales to Taiwan that became institutionalized as annual roundsof talks with Taiwan authorities consisting ofseveral phases leading up to final meetings usually in April. Through the 1990s, the arms talks were low-profile, reducing the opportunities forgreater U.S.-PRC friction. Resolution of Disagreements Within U.S. Government. The U.S. side, as represented by AIT and the Defense Department, presents the finaldecisions on the requested items.
This CRS Report discusses the low-profile annual arms talks process that successiveAdministrations used from theearly 1980s to 2001 in determining arms sales to Taiwan, which are governed by the Taiwan Relations Act. Thediscussion is based on interviews in 1998 and1999 with U.S. and Taiwan observers as well as U.S. and Taiwan news reports. This report on the process will notbe updated. (On April 24, 2001, PresidentGeorge W. Bush announced that he would drop this annual arms talks process in favor of one with considerationson an "as-needed basis." See also CRS Report RL30957, Taiwan: Major U.S. Arms Sales Since 1990.)