The US last year imported US$59.6 billion more of Taiwanese goods than the previous year, the largest increase among US trading partners, the “2026 Economic Report of the President” released on Monday by the US Council of Economic Advisers showed.
While the 61.5 percent annual increase in Taiwanese goods demonstrated the nation’s growing importance in the US supply chain, it was still dwarfed by an annual increase of 125.3 percent in imports from Switzerland in the year, the report showed.
Among the US’ major trading partners, Vietnam, Ireland and Mexico also saw substantial increases of their goods shipped to the US last year, while US imports significantly fell from China, Canada, Germany, South Korea and Singapore.
Photo: Bloomberg
Most notably was a US$97.1 billion reduction of goods from China, the report said.
In addition, imports from China fell to 9.3 percent of total US imports, near the 8.9 percent level recorded in 2000 — the year before China joined the WTO — and down significantly from 13.4 percent in 2024, it added.
The US also improved its trade balance with countries such as the UK, Italy, Germany and South Korea, which helped narrow its average monthly trade deficit from US$101 billion in 2024 to US$87 billion in November last year, the report said.
The annual report provides a comprehensive review of the past year’s economic policies and their impact on current and future economic conditions.
Among the 14 topics of importance to the US in this year’s report is deepened investment and trade cooperation with Taiwan, underscoring the positive role Taiwan is playing in the process of the US improving its trade balance structure.
The report said that Taiwan agreed to expand its investment in the US, including in semiconductors, energy and artificial intelligence, which would help support high-value job creation in the US, enhance the US’ advanced manufacturing capacity and reduce vulnerabilities in critical supply chains.
In addition, the US-Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade reached in February helps facilitate the entry of US products into the Taiwanese market and establishes clear trade conditions for American businesses in Taiwan, it said.
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