U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the reciprocal trade agreement will ‘significantly enhance the resilience’ of U.S. supply chains.
TAIPEI, Taiwan—The United States and Taiwan signed a reciprocal trade agreement on Feb. 12, setting a 15 percent U.S. tariff on Taiwanese imports, while granting preferential access to Taiwan’s market for American industrial and agricultural goods, including beef, dairy, pork, wheat, and automobiles.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the signing will expand export opportunities to Taiwan for American farmers, ranchers, fishermen, workers, small businesses, and manufacturers.
“This agreement also builds on our longstanding economic and trade relationship with Taiwan and will significantly enhance the resilience of our supply chains, particularly in high-technology sectors,” Greer said.
The trade deal will remove Taiwan’s tariffs up to 26 percent on a range of U.S. agricultural imports, including beef, corn, and dairy. However, some tariffs, including the 40 percent tariff on pork belly and 32 percent on ham, will be cut to 10 percent, according to the official tariff schedule.
Taiwan will remove non-tariff barriers on motor vehicles, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals, and accept U.S. auto safety standards, according to a document from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Under the agreement, Taiwan is committed to significantly increasing its purchases of U.S. goods from 2025 through 2029, including $44.4 billion of liquefied natural gas and crude oil, $15.2 billion of civil aircraft and engines, and $25.2 billion of generators, power, marine, and steel-making equipment, the USTR’s office said.
“President [Donald] Trump’s leadership in the Asia-Pacific region continues to generate prosperous trade ties for the United States with important partners across Asia, while further advancing the economic and national security interests of the American people,” Greer added.
The trade deal formalizes an agreement that the two sides announced in January that would lower tariffs on goods from Taiwan to 15 percent from the 20 percent initially imposed by Trump. The 15 percent rate puts Taiwan on an equal footing with two close neighbors, South Korea and Japan.
Under the January agreement, Taiwan pledged that its technology companies would invest $250 billion in semiconductors, energy, and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation in the United States, along with an additional $250 billion in credit guarantees provided by the Taiwanese government.
The final language of the trade deal did not provide more details on those investments. However, it stated that Taiwan’s representative office in the United States, called the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), would collaborate with U.S. authorities to “facilitate additional new greenfield and brownfield investments … in strategic high-technology manufacturing sectors, including AI, semiconductors, and advanced electronics.”
Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), chairman of the House Ways and Means trade subcommittee, said the trade deal has “strengthened one of our most important partnerships in the Indo-Pacific,” according to his X post on Feb. 12.
“I appreciate the administration’s leadership in securing a strong agreement that advances our economic and national security interests,” Smith added.
By Frank Fang
