The U.S. and Taiwan agreed to a long-sought trade pact that would lower tariffs on goods from the self-governed island to 15% and see Taiwanese semiconductor companies increase financing for American operations by $500 billion.
Under the terms, which the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday, duties on Taiwanese shipments would fall from the previous 20% rate ¡ª putting them on par with those from Japan and South Korea, which reached their own deals last year. The new rate would not stack on top of existing most-favored-nation duties, according to a statement from the Cabinet in Taipei.
Taiwan¡¯s technology industry would also commit to making at least $250 billion in direct investments to expand advanced semiconductor, energy and artificial intelligence operations in the U.S. That includes previous commitments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, which total $165 billion.
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