US Lawmakers’ Bipartisan Taiwan Visit Signals Support Despite Harsh Words and Tariffs from Trump
Republican and Democratic lawmakers made their first trip to Taiwan under the new Trump administration a bipartisan one, aiming to show both Taiwan and China that US support for Taiwan’s defense remains broad, despite the harsh words and harsh tariffs President Donald Trump has had for the Taiwanese.
Taiwan’s leaders so far in this week’s trip by two Republican and one Democratic senator are messaging back just as hard, assuring the Republican US administration that they have taken in Trump’s complaints and are acting on them.
Many Asia-Pacific nations are eschewing the retaliatory criticism and tariffs of some of the US’s European allies after Trump earlier this month slapped broad tariffs on many countries around the world, including a 32% one for Taiwan.
Despite that hit, conversations in Taiwan this week were “optimistic and forward-looking,” Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said in Taipei. “And I’m optimistic that we’re going to see a strong next chapter in US-Taiwan relations.”
That includes assurances from the Taiwanese that they are working fast to strike new trade and investment deals that suit the Trump administration, on top of the advanced-semiconductor giant’s $100 billion investment this year alone in chip production in the US.
