On January 20, 2021, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. After entering the White House, Mr. Biden moved quickly to implement an expansive agenda covering topics from the coronavirus, national security, industry competitiveness, to sustainable development, while instructing the National Security Council to overhaul all policies and measures concerning China during the Trump administration. Through tracking key developments of the Biden administration’s economic and trade policies, and comparing them with those of the Trump administration, the current project aims to analyze the degree of Trump-to-Biden policy continuity.

After year-long tracking of the US economic and trade agenda and actions under the Biden administration, the research made the following conclusions: 1) improving US competitiveness is a top priority for the Biden administration, with reviewing the resilience of critical supply chains and expanding domestic manufacturing as key areas of focus. In the future, the US will invest in critical technologies such as semiconductors to foster local R&D and innovation. 2) the Biden administration has adopted a comprehensive and coalition-driven strategy towards China. Both the Senate-passed United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, and the House-introduced EAGLE Act, have fully reflected Mr. Biden's position on a comprehensive and strategic competition with China, suggesting that the US position on China is consistent across party lines and government agencies and is unlikely to change in the short term. 3) the US-China tariff war is far from over in the short term. While the Biden administration is to continue Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports for now, Washington is not inclined to resolve the issues of Beijing’s support for state-owned enterprises and industrial subsidies through a Phase II deal. Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, also indicated the possibility of seeking alternative strategies. 4) the US has developed initiatives to strengthen critical supply chains to promote economic security, and the purpose of Mr. Biden's 100-Day Supply Chain Review is not only to facilitate decoupling from China, but to create job opportunities through supply chain reshoring.

The project this year focused on areas and specific measures to strengthen US-Taiwan economic and trade cooperation. Relevant trade data was analyzed to investigate bilateral investment in supply chains of critical products. Information accessed through online seminars, media coverage, and industry surveys was also collected for industry and expert insights, based on which policy recommendations for enhancing US-Taiwan exchanges were developed. The report proposed the following policy recommendations for Taiwan to navigate the changing global landscape and to enhance the Taiwan-US partnership: 1) support Taiwanese businesses in necessary supply chain restructuring; 2) develop strategic global investment plan in response to the US agenda on building supply chain resilience; 3) continue to follow the development of economic frameworks in the Indo-Pacific region, and seek membership when appropriate, and 4) promote key areas conducive to a stronger Taiwan-US partnership.

Chinese：https://web.wtocenter.org.tw/Page/89/388798