Listeners, welcome to Taiwan Tariff News and Tracker, your latest update on US tariff policy, Trump’s moves, and every development impacting Taiwan.
By November 2025, the US average tariff rate has soared to 17.9 percent, following a dramatic surge to an estimated 27 percent earlier this year—marking the highest US tariff level in over a century, as reported by Wikipedia. President Donald Trump’s administration has not just continued but radically escalated its use of tariffs, invoking both the Trade Expansion Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify broad duties on nearly all goods, including those from allies and rivals.
When it comes to Taiwan, direct tariff headlines are less frequent than for China or Mexico, but Trump’s global “reciprocal tariff” system places Taiwan under sweeping new US trade barriers. Since April 2025, a universal 10 percent tariff on almost all US imports applies, including those from Taiwan, and additional country-specific tariffs can be added at the president’s discretion. According to Politico’s estimates and details from Wikipedia, the average rate has only slightly come down after hasty renegotiations, and remains far above pre-2025 levels.
The Trump administration’s approach is less about regular trade negotiations and more about geopolitics and leverage. Nikkei Asia highlights that trade policy has become a tool of “coercive statecraft,” wielded not only against adversaries like China but also to extract concessions and defense commitments from partners like Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. Bilateral deals increasingly tie tariff relief to large military purchases or strategic concessions, fundamentally altering the way the US engages its allies.
On the military front, the US approved its first major arms sale to Taiwan under Trump’s second term this fall, as reported by Borna News and Taiwan’s Overseas Community Affairs Council. The $330 million deal supplies key aircraft parts to help Taipei maintain its American-made F-16s and C-130s, reaffirming a robust—if transactional—security partnership. Taiwan’s presidential office praised the move, while Beijing vehemently opposed it, warning the US not to send “the wrong signal” to so-called “separatist forces.”
Despite renewed defense ties, Trump’s rhetoric frames protection for partners like Taiwan as conditional—he’s even likened Taiwan to an “insurance policyholder that hadn’t been paying premiums,” according to the South China Morning Post. For listeners in Taiwan, that means tariff relief, arms sales, and even diplomatic engagement hinge on visible economic and strategic commitments to Washington, making the road ahead complex and highly dependent on US domestic politics.
With the US average tariff still at historic highs, Taiwan’s high-tech exports—semiconductors, electronics, and more—now face new costs entering the American market. Supply chain strategies may shift as Taiwanese firms recalculate the cost-benefit analysis of US market access. Meanwhile, key US tariff policy decisions are under legal challenge, with the Supreme Court hearing cases against Trump’s sweeping use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Until there’s a ruling, these tariffs remain in force, shaping every major trading partner’s next move.
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