Taiwanese companies would be “critical” in order to meet US President Donald Trump’s goal of reindustrializing the US, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said on Sunday.
Greene made the remarks at a reception for Taiwan’s delegation at the US Department of Commerce’s 2025 SelectUSA Investment Summit, being held in Maryland from Sunday through tomorrow.
Ten years ago, 80 percent of Taiwan’s foreign investment went to China, but last year, more of it went to the US than to any other country, Greene said.
Photo: CNA
Just as Taiwanese companies were crucial to the industrialization of China 30 years ago, “we expect Taiwan companies to be just as critical to achieving President Trump’s mission for reindustrializing the United States,” he said.
The AIT has helped support the growing interest of Taiwanese companies in the US, particularly in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum technology, he said.
The Taiwan delegation to the summit was the largest among all the participants, he added.
Cabinet Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), who is leading the Taiwan delegation, and Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝), also spoke at the reception, urging the US Congress to pass legislation to prevent double taxation between Taiwan and the US.
The US-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act was approved by the US House of Representatives in January, but must still be passed by the Senate.
Meanwhile, Kung said Taiwan is seeking deeper military and economic cooperation with the US, despite Trump-imposed tariffs that have rattled business leaders in Taiwan.
The White House last month imposed hefty tariffs on trading partners globally including Taipei before pausing them for 90 days.
“We have seen the whole world express concern over the tariffs issue, and our president, [William] Lai (賴清德) has already met with the heads of major Taiwanese companies 10 times, which also shows their great concern,” Kung said.
He suggested the two countries could work together on security and technology.
“We can have research and development together in the area of drones, for example,” he said.
“The United States has advanced technologies and Taiwan is very strong in having a mass production of this kind of advanced technologies,” he added.
Kung touted an opportunity for “good cooperation” that could in turn benefit “enhancing our industrial security.”
About 60 percent of Taiwanese exports to the US fall within the information technology sector and are mainly semiconductors, which are used in everything from televisions and cars to weapons and supercomputers.
In a statement last week, Taiwan’s Cabinet said the delegation to the SelectUSA Investment Summit would include representatives from industries such as information and communications technology, semiconductors, AI, chemical engineering, biotechnology, smart manufacturing, aerospace and financial services.
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