Welcome to Taiwan Tariff News and Tracker. It’s Friday, November 7, 2025, and leading today’s episode is sweeping change in global trade as President Donald Trump’s second term brings wide-reaching tariffs that are shaking up Taiwan–United States relations.
According to Wikipedia’s summary of the 2025 tariff surge, President Trump imposed steep tariffs across nearly all U.S. imports after taking office for his second term, driving the average applied U.S. tariff rate from 2.5% to as high as 27% by April, the highest in over a century. These rates settled to about 17.9% by September, but the aggressive actions set off a global wave of trade retaliation, negotiations, and economic uncertainty.
Taiwan was not spared. On April 2, Trump announced a new “reciprocal tariff” of 32% on Taiwanese goods, though notably, semiconductor products—the crown jewel of Taiwan’s export economy—were excluded. Trump’s administration justified the move by criticizing Taiwan for what he called “unfair dominance” in chips and for not shouldering enough defense spending. The Taiwanese government publicly labeled these tariffs “unreasonable” but refrained from direct retaliation, instead offering to boost imports from the U.S. and to drop its tariffs on American goods.
Within Taiwan’s political scene, this sparked fierce debate. The opposition Kuomintang claimed these U.S. tariffs undercut President Lai Ching-te’s pro-Washington policy, warning they exposed the government’s lack of preparedness. In practical terms, Premier Cho Jung-tai convened parliament in April, unveiling an NT$88 billion plan to stabilize Taiwan’s economy and industries. Kao Shien-quey, deputy head of the National Development Council, warned that if U.S. tariffs ever returned to peak levels, the manufacturing sector could face a 5 percent drop in production value.
Negotiations did follow. By August, President Trump and Taiwan agreed to a preliminary deal: a 20% “reciprocal tariff” would be applied to Taiwanese exports to the U.S.—except semiconductors. Taiwan’s Office of Trade and Economic Affairs confirmed that while these talks continue, industries like traditional manufacturing, agriculture, and fisheries are bracing for potentially severe losses, as the 20% charge stacks on top of the usual Most-Favored-Nation rates for many sectors.
Amid these risks, U.S. trade data released by First Trust Advisors shows Taiwan’s effective tariff rate as of July 2025 was 1.8%, much lower than China’s 44.1%, but the new 20% figure signals a major change for key Taiwanese exporters.
Political fallout is ongoing. Some business lobbies, including the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, are calling for the U.S. to roll back its import taxes, hoping further negotiations can soften the blow of these tariffs.
For listeners tracking headlines this week, Trump’s tariff authority is also under scrutiny by the U.S. Supreme Court, raising new questions over how enduring or volatile these trade barriers might be.
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