Trump administration nears trade deal with Taiwan tied to TSMC U.S. expansion

The Trump administration is completing a trade deal with Taiwan that would cut tariffs on the island’s exports and secure a commitment from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation to invest significantly more in the United States, according to three people familiar with the matter.

People familiar with the negotiations said the agreement would lower the U.S. tariff rate on Taiwanese goods to 15 percent, a level comparable to deals with Japan and South Korea. The deal is being legally scrubbed and could be announced this month. As part of the talks, TSMC would commit to building at least five additional semiconductor fabs in Arizona, roughly doubling its plants in the state; the timeline for those investments was not immediately clear.

A TSMC spokesman declined to comment. The effort follows the administration’s broader move since April to impose sweeping tariffs and then negotiate reductions in exchange for investment promises and other measures tied to U.S. national security. South Korea and Japan have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S.

investments in areas such as shipbuilding, nuclear energy, electronics and critical minerals. Importers of Taiwanese products have been paying a 20 percent tariff, though semiconductors and many electronics have been exempted and considered under a separate national security review known as Section 232.

Key Topics

Business, Tsmc, Taiwan, Arizona, Semiconductors