《TAIPEI TIMES》 US, Taiwan should sign FTA, Ted Cruz tells Tsai Ing-wen

‘TRUE FRIEND of TAIWAN’: Tsai thanked the senator for his support of every Taiwan-friendly bill passed by the US Senate and for speaking up for the nation

By Su Yung-yao / Staff reporter

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US Senator Ted Cruz yesterday told President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） that he would like to see Taiwan and the US sign a free-trade agreement （FTA）, adding that the move would be mutually beneficial.

Cruz yesterday met with Tsai at the Presidential Office in Taipei after attending the Double Ten National Day ceremony on Ketagalan Boulevard.

Cruz said Taiwan and the US have fostered a partnership through diplomatic, military and economic exchanges, and he would like to see the two sides sign an FTA, which he believes would be mutually advantageous.

The people of the US are proud to be Taiwan’s friends and to stand with Taiwan, he said.

Tsai welcomed Cruz and said that he was the first US senator to take part in the national day ceremony for 35 years.

After she was elected in 2016, Cruz issued a statement praising Taiwan as the “exemplar of liberty and the best hope for peace in East Asia,” Tsai said.

Tsai expressed her deepest gratitude to Cruz for having supported every Taiwan-friendly bill passed by the US Senate, including the National Defense Authorization Act, which reasserted that the Taiwan Reassurance Act and the “six assurances” are the cornerstone of exchanges between Taiwan and the US.

She also thanked Cruz for speaking up for Taiwan in the international community.

The defense act also encourages the leveraging of Taiwan-US collaborations and exchanges, as well as helping Taiwan boost its defensive capabilities, she said.

Tsai told Cruz that the nation hopes to enter into an FTA with the US, which would strengthen the Taiwan-US partnership and facilitate the growth of industries on both sides.

By consolidating the partnership, both nations would be able to do more for the world, she said.

Calling Cruz a “true friend of Taiwan,” Tsai said she hoped that Cruz would continue to work with her administration to further deepen bilateral ties and expand collaborations.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES