US, Taiwan Sign Trade Deal

The US and Taiwan sealed a trade pact Thursday that lowers tariffs and steers tens of billions of dollars toward American energy and technology projects. Unveiled Thursday in Washington, the agreement commits Taiwan to buying more than $44 billion in US liquefied natural gas and crude oil, while further opening its market to beef, pork, dairy, wheat, medical products, and autos from the US. Taipei also plans to purchase about $15 billion in civil aircraft and parts and invest roughly $25 billion in power-generation equipment by 2029, Bloomberg News reports. Tariffs on goods from Taiwan will be cut to 15% from 20%, though generic drugs, chips, and smartphones are excluded and could face future levies.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who attended the signing, said the deal removes tariff and non-tariff barriers for American exports and strengthens supply-chain resilience, particularly in high-tech sectors. But the agreement leaves key questions about Taiwan's earlier pledge to support US semiconductor production. Taipei had outlined $250 billion in direct investment in advanced chips, energy and AI projects in the US, plus another $250 billion in government loan guarantees, yet the new document offers few specifics on how that money would be deployed. In exchange, Taiwanese firms are to receive tariff-free quotas for shipping chips to the US and "preferential treatment" under any future American chip tariffs.

The tariff cuts still need approval from Taiwan's legislature, where the opposition Kuomintang has criticized the talks as opaque and raised questions about the effect on local pork producers and food safety standards tied to US meat imports. The Trump administration has also signaled plans to boost investment in Taiwan's own semiconductor, AI, defense, and biotech industries. President Trump has a trip to China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, planned for April; the agreement suggests a deepening economic relationship between the US and Taiwan, per the AP.