Foreign Affairs

Taiwan Says It’ll Pour More Cash Into US After Trump Tariff Threats

(Screen Capture/CSPAN)

Taiwan pledged to invest more in the U.S. after President Donald Trump vowed to impose sweeping tariffs on foreign countries.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said Friday that his country would communicate more with the U.S. about Trump’s concerns over the semiconductor chip industry and would also invest more in the U.S., according to multiple reports. The Taiwanese president’s announcement came after Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday outlining a plan to impose “reciprocal” and “fair” tariffs on U.S. trading partners across the globe.

“Gone are the days of America being taken advantage of: this plan will put the American worker first, improve our competitiveness in every area of industry, reduce our trade deficit, and bolster our economic and national security,” Trump wrote in the memorandum.

Trump said on Thursday that he believes Taiwan has taken away the semiconductor chip industry from the U.S. Notably, Taiwan is home to the world’s most valuable chipmaker, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which produces advanced chips that can be used in applications such as computers, smartphones and artificial intelligence systems. In the third quarter of 2024, TSMC recorded a market share of 64.9% in the global semiconductor foundry market.

On Feb. 1, Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from China, Canada and Mexico in an attempt to mitigate the flow of illegal immigration and illicit drugs such as fentanyl coming into the U.S. from the foreign countries. Shortly after Trump’s tariffs announcement, the Mexican government deployed thousands of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to help stop the flow of illicit drugs and illegal immigrants between the two countries, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to secure the U.S-Canada border, leading to Trump agreeing to pause his tariffs against the two countries for 30 days.

Trade tensions between China and the U.S. have continued to rise after Beijing responded to Trump’s blanket 10% tariff on all Chinese goods with its own retaliatory tariffs on various exports. During his first presidency, Trump imposed various tariffs on China, launching a trade war between the U.S. and Beijing in 2018.