HONG KONG (AP) \u2014 The United States and Taiwan reached a trade deal Thursday that cuts tariffs on Taiwanese goods in exchange for $250 billion in new investments in the U.S. tech industry.<\/p>\n
The deal is the latest President Donald Trump has struck \u2014 such as those with the European Union and Japan \u2014 since he unveiled a sweeping tariff plan last April to address trade imbalances. Trump also has a one-year trade truce with China to stabilize ties with the world’s second largest economy.<\/p>\n
Trump initially set the tariff at 32% on Taiwanese goods but later changed it to 20%. The new agreement slashes the tariff rate to 15%, the same as levied on other U.S. trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region such as Japan and South Korea.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Commerce said the deal with Taiwan would establish an \u201ceconomic partnership\u201d to create several \u201cworld-class\u201d U.S.-based industrial parks in order to help build up domestic production. The department described it as “a historic trade deal that will drive a massive reshoring of America\u2019s semiconductor sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Taiwanese government affirmed key details in the deal in a statement, saying that the \u201cTaiwan model” will go to the U.S. and help expand the global competitiveness of the island’s technology industry while deepening strategic cooperation between the two nations.<\/p>\n
Taiwan’s executive branch said the island’s companies would specifically invest $250 billion in industries such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence applications and energy.<\/p>\n
In addition to cutting the tariffs on the island nation, the Commerce Department said it will exempt certain imports such as generic pharmaceuticals and aircraft components from Taiwan. Taiwanese semiconductor producers that invest in the U.S. also will get favorable tariff treatments, including exemptions, the department said.<\/p>\n
One day before the deal was announced, Beijing, which claims Taiwan to be part of China, scoffed at it, calling the agreement \u201can economic plunder\u201d by the U.S. on Taiwan.<\/p>\n
TSMC to lead investments<\/p>\n
The deal came just when Taiwan-based TSMC, the world\u2019s largest computer chipmaker, on Thursday announced plans to increase its capital spending by as much as nearly 40% this year after it reported a 35% jump in its net profit for the latest quarter thanks to the boom in artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., a major supplier<\/a> to companies including Nvidia and Apple, reported a net profit of 506 billion new Taiwan dollars ($16 billion) for the October-December quarter, a 35% surge from a year earlier, better than analysts\u2019 estimates.<\/p>\n Story Continues <\/p>\n TSMC said Thursday that its revenue in the last quarter increased 21% from a year earlier to more than 1.046 trillion new Taiwan dollars ($33 billion).<\/p>\n TSMC said it plans to boost its capital expenditure budget to $52 billion-$56 billion for 2026, up from about $40 billion last year.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s Taiwan-listed shares have jumped 59% over the past 12 months, reflecting its strong position in the AI-driven market.<\/p>\n Other tech giants including Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet are spending big<\/a> on investments in AI infrastructure.<\/p>\n \u201cWe expect our business to be supported by continuous strong demand for our leading edge process technologies,\u201d Wendell Huang, TSMC’s chief financial officer, said in a conference call. He said spending would be \u201csignificantly higher\u201d in the next three years.<\/p>\n Asked about concerns over an AI bubble — as critics point to ballooning investments which might not pay off — TSMC chairman and CEO C. C. Wei said he is confident that the growing demand from customers is real.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m also very nervous about it, you bet,\u201d said Wei. \u201cAI is real. Not only real, it’s starting to grow into our daily life.”<\/p>\n With a market capitalization — total outstanding shares times share price — of approximately $1.4 trillion, TSMC is currently more valuable than Samsung Electronics<\/a> and Alibaba<\/a>. It is Asia\u2019s most valuable listed company.<\/p>\n Alphabet, Google\u2019s parent, passed the $4 trillion<\/a> market capitalization mark this month, the fourth Big Tech company to hit that mark after Nvidia<\/a>, Apple<\/a> and Microsoft<\/a>, although worries about an AI bubble had led to occasional sell-offs.<\/p>\n