Taiwan has agreed to buy US$10 billion of US agricultural products over the next four years in exchange for exporting the nation’s pineapples, the Presidential Office said amid tariff negotiations with Washington.
President William Lai (賴清德) unveiled the deal at a meeting with an agricultural delegation headed by US Undersecretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Luke Lindberg, the office said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
The deal to import US-produced soybeans, corn, wheat and beef would improve the productivity of Taiwanese agriculture by improving the quality of its animal feed, as well as improving the nation’s food security, the office said, citing Lai.
Photo: CNA
A Taiwanese agricultural delegation has visited several breadbasket states in the US, including South Dakota, Lindberg’s home state, Lai said, adding that the exchange of delegations signaled Taiwan’s commitment to the bilateral economic partnership.
Taiwan is the seventh-biggest trade partner of the US and the seventh most important buyer of its agricultural exports, he said.
As a reliable and trustworthy friend of the US in the semiconductor industry, Taiwan wishes to enhance bilateral collaboration toward introducing innovative technology in its agricultural sector and food supply resilience, Lai said.
Taiwan’s strategic position in the first island chain and its ability to contribute to decoupling global supply chains from China underscores the importance of cooperation among like-minded nations to world peace and prosperity, he said.
The visit of Lindberg’s delegation — which showcases the depth of collaboration between the private and public sectors in Taiwan and the US — symbolizes the strength of the two nations’ strategic economic partnership, Lai said.
Lindberg expressed his gratitude to Taiwanese consumers for buying up to 25 percent of their foodstuff from US farmers, the statement said.
As a friend of Taiwan, the US is committed to bolstering the nation’s resilience by contributing to its supply of food and energy, Lindberg said.
Separately, Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) yesterday said that officials expect the US to approve imports of Taiwanese pineapples before the next harvest, which starts in March next year.
Most of the technical and legal hurdles involved in obtaining approval for sale of the fruit in the US have been overcome since the government began preparing for the move in September last year, Chen said.
Taiwan initiated the process to export pineapples to the US shortly after 2021, when China banned their sale, he said, adding that members of the US delegation who visited Taiwanese orchards were satisfied with their sanitation standards.
Taiwanese pineapples compare favorably in sweetness and juiciness to their Central and Southern American counterparts that hold sway in the US market, he said.
Most Taiwanese pineapple cultivars certified to be pest-free would be exempt from chemical and non-chemical treatment typically required of fruit imported by the US, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said, citing comments by US officials.
Details of the quarantine procedures for Taiwanese pineapples are still being determined, the bureau added.
Additional reporting by Yang Yuan-ting
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
RSS