The landmark Taipei 101 building and city skyline seen from the Elephant Mountain Observation Deck in Taipei City on April 14, 2025. (Photo: I-Hwa Cheng/AFP) (Photo: I-Hwa CHENG/AFP via Getty Images)
Chen Yihua | AFP | Getty Images
Trump administration officials signed a final reciprocal trade agreement, affirming a 15% U.S. tariff on Taiwanese imports while committing to a timeline for eliminating or lowering tariffs on nearly all U.S. products.
The document released Thursday by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative also commits Taiwan to significantly increase its purchases of U.S. products from 2025 to 2029, including $44.4 billion in liquefied natural gas and crude oil, $15.2 billion in civil aircraft and engines, and $25.2 billion in power grid equipment and generators, marine and steel equipment.
The agreement adds technical language and specific details to the Trade Framework Agreement first reached in January, lowering tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15% from the 20% originally imposed by President Trump. This puts Taiwan on par with its closest export competitors in Asia, South Korea and Japan.
The January agreement included Taiwan’s pledge that Taiwanese companies would invest $250 billion to expand semiconductor, energy and artificial intelligence production in the United States, including $100 billion already committed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation 2330.TW. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Taiwanese government would guarantee an additional $250 billion for U.S. investment.
Although the final document did not provide further details about these investments, the U.S. Mission in Taiwan said it would work with U.S. officials to facilitate additional new greenfield and brownfield investments in “strategic high-tech manufacturing areas, including AI, semiconductors, and advanced electronics.”
The agreement would immediately eliminate Taiwan’s tariffs of up to 26% on many U.S. agricultural imports, including beef, dairy products and corn. However, according to the tariff list, some tariffs, such as the current 40% on pork belly and 32% on ham, will only drop to 10%.
The United States said that under the agreement, Taiwan would eliminate non-tariff barriers to automobiles and accept U.S. automobile safety standards and safety standards for medical devices and drugs.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the agreement will expand export opportunities for U.S. farmers, ranchers, fishermen, workers and manufacturers.
“This agreement also builds on our long-standing economic and trade relationship with Taiwan and will significantly strengthen the resilience of our supply chains, particularly in the high-tech sector,” Greer added.
In the first 11 months of 2025, the U.S. trade deficit with Taiwan rose to $126.9 billion from $73.7 billion in all of 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. This is mainly due to a significant increase in imports of high-end AI chips from Taiwan.
