Washington: Ten months after U.S. President Donald Trump introduced a new tariff policy in April 2025, Taiwan and the United States have signed an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) in Washington. President Lai Ching-te has described the agreement as "securing significant benefits for Taiwan's industries and our economy as a whole."
According to Focus Taiwan, the ART framework addresses both exports and imports between the two nations. Under the new agreement, U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese goods will decrease from 20 percent to 15 percent, aligning Taiwan with Japan and the EU in terms of tariff rates. Taiwan has also managed to secure exemptions from reciprocal tariffs for 1,811 industrial products exported to the U.S., with the average tariff rate for these products expected to drop to 12.32 percent, as per Taiwan's Cabinet.
On the import side, Taiwan will eliminate tariffs on 18.3 percent of U.S. industrial products that were previously not duty-free. Additionally, partial tariff reductions will be applied to 20 items related to the military industry resilience. The agreement is poised to reshape trade dynamics between Taiwan and the U.S., influencing goods and markets significantly.