Fri, Feb 13, 2026 page1

• Taiwan, US sign tariff deal

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  Taiwan and the US signed a reciprocal trade agreement in Washington yesterday, capping US tariffs on Taiwanese goods at 15 percent and granting preferential market access for US industrial and agricultural exports, including automobiles, beef and pork.

  Under the US-Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, the US tariff rate on Taiwanese imports would be maintained at 15 percent, while Taiwanese semiconductors and related products are to be granted the most favorable treatment under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, the Executive Yuan said.

  

  Taiwan and US flags are pictured next to a stack of US$50 bills in an illustration on Jan. 13.

  Photo: CNA

  The 15 percent tariff matches the rates on goods from major US trade partners such as Japan, South Korea and the EU.

  

  Representative to the US Alexander Yui, third right, and American Institute in Taiwan Washington office Managing Director Ingrid Larson, third left, hold copies of a Taiwan-US trade agreement in Washington yesterday.

  Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan

  An additional 2,072 Taiwanese items would also be exempt from reciprocal tariffs and would be subject only to the most-favored-nation tariff rate when imported into the US, the Cabinet said in a statement.

  Of the 2,072 items, 261 are agricultural products such as Phalaenopsis orchids, tea, tapioca starch, coffee, pineapple cakes, guava, fruit juices and mangoes, the Cabinet said.

  The 261 products account for 42 percent of Taiwan's agricultural export value to the US, bringing in US$374 million per year, it added.

  The other 1,811 items are industrial products, with exports to the US valued at US$9.56 billion annually and accounting for 36 percent of Taiwan's total industrial exports to the US, it said.

  They include radio navigation equipment, communications instruments, lithium-ion batteries, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers and light oil products, it added.

  Meanwhile, Taiwan has agreed to eliminate or reduce 99 percent of its tariff barriers on US industrial and agricultural imports, the Office of the US Trade Representative said.

  The list includes automobiles and auto parts, chemicals, seafood, machinery, health products, wheat, beef and beef products, dairy products, pork and pork products, lamb, ketchup and peanuts, the office said.

  "The Agreement on Reciprocal Trade is a testament to the importance of the US-Taiwan relationship and reflects both sides' ambition to increase bilateral investment and commercial opportunities, deepen their high-tech strategic partnership, ensure supply chain resilience and jointly promote stability and prosperity," the office said.

  The Cabinet said the trade agreement aims not only to establish a mutually beneficial economic and trade framework, but also to further build a "Taiwan-US high-tech strategic partnership" centered on "technological innovation, supply chain resilience and economic security."

  The trade pact was signed in Washington by Representative to the US Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) and Ingrid Larson, managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan's (AIT) Washington office.

  Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), Taiwan's top trade negotiator Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮), US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick presided over the signing ceremony.

  Under the agreement, Taiwan has also agreed to remove quantitative restrictions on US motor vehicles and accept those that meet US safety and emissions standards, the office said.

  Taiwan would also accept US Food and Drug Administration marketing authorizations for medical devices and pharmaceuticals manufactured in the US, without additional requirements for importation, the office said.

  In addition, Taiwan would resolve and remove non-tariff barriers to US agricultural exports, including beef, pork, poultry and processed potatoes, and would complete the regulatory process to allow the importation of bison meat, it added.

  The reciprocal trade agreement followed nearly a year of trade negotiations between Taiwan and the US, and builds on agreements reached last month.

  The agreement would now be sent to Taiwan's legislature for review and approval.
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