Fact Sheet on U.S.-Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade
Purpose
·
Strengthens economic and trade ties between the U.S. and Taiwan.
·
Expands U.S. manufacturing through tariff reductions, removal of
non‑tariff barriers, and new investments.
·
Promotes supply chain resilience, high‑tech cooperation,
and economic security alignment.
Key Provisions
1. Tariff Reductions
·
Taiwan to eliminate/reduce 99% of tariff barriers.
·
Preferential access for U.S. industrial exports (autos,
chemicals, machinery, metals, minerals, health products).
·
Preferential access for U.S. agricultural exports (beef, pork,
dairy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, seafood, pet food, etc.).
2. Non‑Tariff Barriers
·
Taiwan to remove restrictions on U.S. vehicles (accept U.S.
safety & emissions standards).
·
Acceptance of FDA authorizations for U.S. medical devices &
pharmaceuticals.
·
Transparency in healthcare reimbursement and listing.
·
Commitments to ease barriers for beef, pork, poultry, potatoes,
and allow bison meat imports.
3. Geographical Indications (GIs)
·
Protects U.S. producers’ rights to use common names for cheese
and meat.
·
Ensures fair GI protection standards.
4. Intellectual Property
·
Stronger IP protection and enforcement against theft.
·
Alignment with international IP treaties.
5. Labor Standards
·
Ban on imports made with forced labor.
·
Improved protections for fishing vessel workers.
·
Prohibition of recruitment fees and retention of identity documents.
·
Strengthened rights to association and collective bargaining.
6. Environmental Protections
·
Enforcement of environmental laws.
·
Measures against illegal logging, fishing, wildlife trade, and
harmful subsidies.
·
Promotion of resource efficiency.
7. Public Enterprises & Subsidies
·
Taiwan to limit subsidies to public enterprises except for small
businesses, public services, or security needs.
8. Investment & Industrial Cooperation
·
U.S. to support investment financing in Taiwan.
·
Taiwan to invest heavily in semiconductors, electronics, AI, energy
in the U.S.
·
Establishment of industrial parks & clusters to boost U.S.
production capacity.
·
Preferential treatment for Taiwan in U.S. Section 232 investigations
on semiconductors.
9. Supply Chain & Security
·
Joint work on supply chain resilience and combating duty evasion.
·
Alignment on economic and national security cooperation.
10. Purchases of U.S. Products (2025–2029)
·
Taiwan to buy:
o $44.4B LNG & crude oil
o $15.2B civil aircraft & engines
o $25.2B power equipment, grids, generators,
marine equipment, steel-making equipment
Path Forward
·
Taiwan legislature to review the agreement before entry into force.
·
U.S. to reduce tariffs on Taiwan goods under reciprocal tariff
framework.
·
Builds on $185B two-way trade (2024).
Takeaway
This agreement represents a ground-breaking expansion of U.S.–Taiwan
trade, dismantling barriers, boosting high‑tech and energy
cooperation, and embedding labor, environmental, and
IP protections. It positions Taiwan as a strategic partner in U.S.
manufacturing and supply chain resilience, while opening Taiwan’s market
widely to U.S. goods and services.
[ABS News Service/13.02.2026]
ACHIEVING
RECIPROCAL TRADE: On 12
February, 2026, the United States and Taiwan, under the auspices of the
American Institute in Taiwan (“AIT”) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural
Representative Office in the United States (“TECRO”), have reached an Agreement
on Reciprocal Trade that will strengthen the economic and trade relationship
between the United States of America and Taiwan and provide mutual benefit to
both territories, while also facilitating significant expansion and growth to
U.S. manufacturing through substantial tariff reductions, removal of non-tariff
barriers, investments, and procurement in key sectors and products. The
Agreement on Reciprocal Trade is a testament to the importance of the
U.S.-Taiwan relationship and reflects both sides’ ambition to increase
bilateral investment and commercial opportunities, deepen their high-tech
strategic partnership, ensure supply chain resilience, and jointly promote
stability and prosperity.
GROUNDBREAKING
TERMS: Key terms of the Agreement on
Reciprocal Trade include:
·
Breaking
Down Tariff Barriers for U.S. Industrial and Agricultural Exports: The Taiwan side will eliminate or reduce 99 percent
of tariff barriers. The Taiwan side will provide preferential market access for
U.S. industrial exports, including autos and auto parts, chemicals, seafood,
machinery, health products, electrical products, metals, and minerals. It will
also provide preferential market access for U.S. agricultural exports,
including horticultural products, wheat, beef and beef products, dairy
products, pork and pork products, lamb and sheep meat, tree nuts, dog and cat food,
ketchup, and peanuts.
·
Breaking
Down Non-Tariff Barriers for U.S. Industrial Exports: The Taiwan side has committed to resolve
longstanding non-tariff barriers affecting U.S. exports of motor vehicles,
medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. For U.S. vehicles, Taiwan will remove
quantitative restrictions and accept U.S. vehicles built to U.S. Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards, and emissions standards without additional
requirements to enter Taiwan. Taiwan will also accept U.S. FDA marketing
authorizations for medical devices and pharmaceuticals manufactured in the
United States without additional requirements for entry into Taiwan’s market.
Taiwan will also ensure transparency and fairness regarding reimbursement and
listing of medical devices and pharmaceuticals under its health care system.
·
Breaking
Down Non-Tariff Barriers for U.S. Agricultural Exports: The Taiwan side has committed to resolve and
prevent non-tariff barriers to U.S. agricultural exports, including beef, pork,
poultry, and processing potatoes. It will also work with the U.S. side to
complete the regulatory process to allow bison meat into Taiwan.
·
Geographical
Indications (GIs) and Market Access: The
Taiwan side has committed to groundbreaking provisions that will preserve
current and future U.S. market access for U.S. cheese and meat producers who
rely on the use of common names. This includes ensuring that market access will
not be restricted due to the mere use of certain cheese and meat terms. The
Taiwan side has also committed to robust standards for transparency and
fairness regarding the protection of GIs and to ensure that U.S. products can
continue using terms that have been unfairly protected as GIs.
·
Protecting
and Enforcing Intellectual Property: The
Taiwan side has made commitments that will benefit American innovators and
creators by enhancing intellectual property protection and prioritizing
enforcement against intellectual property theft. This includes aligning with
the standards in key international intellectual property treaties.
·
Improving
Labor Standards: The two
sides recognize the importance of protecting internationally recognized labor rights. The Taiwan side will prohibit the importation
of goods produced with forced labor, and improve
protection of labor rights on commercial fishing
vessels, address the charging of recruitment fees in certain sectors, prohibit
retention of workers’ identity documents, and strengthen enforcement of labor laws. The two sides will continue to advance
additional changes to enhance protection of workers’ rights to freedom of
association and collective bargaining in Taiwan.
·
Strengthening
Environmental Protections: The
Taiwan side has committed to continue to adopt and maintain high levels of
environmental protection and to effectively enforce its environmental laws,
including by taking measures to promote a more resource efficient economy as
well as to address illegal logging, fisheries subsidies, illegal fishing, and
illegal wildlife trade.
·
Confronting
Public Enterprises and Subsidies: The
Taiwan side has committed to refrain from providing non-commercial assistance
or otherwise subsidizing its good-producing public enterprises, except where
the actions fulfil a legitimate public services objective, benefit small
businesses, or protect its essential security interest.
·
Advancing
Trade Facilitation and Good Regulatory Practices: The two sides share common values and are
committed to similar approaches to good regulatory practices, customs and trade
facilitation, standards and technical regulations, and services and digital
trade.
·
Facilitating
Mutually Beneficial Investment: The two
sides intend to create the best possible environment to promote and facilitate
cross-border investments. The U.S. side will, as appropriate, consider
supporting investment financing in critical sectors in Taiwan in collaboration
with U.S. private sector partners, consistent with applicable law. The two
sides also take note of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by AIT and TECRO
on January 15, 2026, in which the Taiwan side promises to work with the United
States to establish industrial parks and industry clusters that will help the
United States substantially increase its domestic production capacity in key
high-tech sectors. The MOU contemplates that Taiwan companies will
significantly increase their investments in the semiconductors supply chain,
electronics manufacturing services (including AI applications), energy, and
other sectors in the United States, with financial support from the Taiwan
side. The MOU also confirms that the U.S. side will provide Taiwan preferential
treatment with regard to tariffs and other remedial measures in the Section 232
investigation of semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment,
taking into account Taiwan’s economic and national security alignment and
high-tech strategic partnership with the United States, as well as in certain
other Section 232 investigations. A link to the Fact Sheet describing the MOU
can be found here.
·
Promoting
Supply Chain Resilience: The two
sides are committed to strengthening cooperation toward their shared goal of
enhancing supply chain resilience and will continue to work to finalize
commitments on combatting duty evasion.
·
Strengthening
Economic Security Alignment: The two
sides have committed to strengthen economic and national security cooperation
to enhance supply chain resilience. These efforts will include ensuring that
international procurement obligations benefit only those countries that have
taken on the same commitments.
·
Increasing
Purchases of U.S. Products: The two
sides commit to cooperate on ensuring secure, reliable, and diversified sources
of supply. The Taiwan side plans to facilitate a long-term increase in its
purchases of important U.S. goods, including $44.4 billion worth of liquefied
natural gas and crude oil, $15.2 billion worth of civil aircraft and engines,
and $25.2 billion worth of power equipment, power grids, materials, generators,
storage facilities, marine equipment, steel-making equipment, and other
equipment from 2025 through 2029.
THE
PROSPEROUS PATH FORWARD: In
advance of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade entering into force, the two sides
will undertake domestic formalities, which will include the Taiwan side
submitting the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade to its legislature for review.
·
Given the
Taiwan side’s commitment to take significant steps to advance a stronger and
more reciprocal trade relationship, the U.S. side has committed to reduce its
tariffs on originating goods from Taiwan. It will apply the higher of either
the U.S. Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff rate or a
tariff rate of 15 percent, comprised of the MFN tariff and a reciprocal tariff
within the meaning of Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025, as amended.
·
The U.S.
side has also identified certain products from the goods contained in the
“Potential Tariff Adjustments for Aligned Partners” Annex to Executive Order
14346 of September 5, 2025 (Modifying the Scope of Reciprocal Tariffs and
Establishing Procedures for Implementing Trade and Security Agreements), as
amended, that will not be subject to a reciprocal tariff.
·
Two-way
trade in goods and services with Taiwan amounted to more than $185 billion in
2024.
LIBERATING
AMERICA FROM UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES: Since Day
One, President Trump challenged the assumption that American workers and
businesses must tolerate unfair trade practices that have disadvantaged them
for decades and contributed to our historic trade deficit.
·
On April
2, President Trump declared a national emergency in response to the
unprecedented threat caused to the United States by the large and persistent
trade deficit caused by a lack of reciprocity in our bilateral trade
relationships, disparate tariff rates and non-tariff barriers, and U.S. trading
partners’ economic policies that suppress domestic wages and consumption.
·
President
Trump continues to help U.S. farmers, ranchers, fishermen, small businesses,
and manufacturers to increase U.S. exports to and expand business opportunities
with our trading partners.
·
Today’s
announcement provides a tangible path forward with Taiwan that underscores the
President’s dedication to bringing balanced, reciprocal trade with an important
trading partner.