00:00A golden age for Taiwan-U.S. trade and investment partnership.
00:03That's the view of the American Chamber of Commerce in its 2026 white paper,
00:08as both countries navigate geopolitical uncertainty and a new trade deal.
00:12The U.S. is Taiwan's top trade partner and Taiwan ranks number four for the U.S.
00:17The report says two-way trade rose by 70 percent year-on-year from January to April this year,
00:24largely driven by mutual investment in AI, chips, and equipment.
00:27This is an opportunity for the U.S. and Taiwan to work even closer together, collaborate.
00:36And so I think it's a great opportunity.
00:39I think the Paxilica is also another opportunity for the U.S. has brought Taiwan in
00:45and Taiwan to show their strength as a technology supply chain partner.
00:51The white paper comes after Taiwan and the U.S. secured an agreement on tariffs in February
00:56after months of negotiations, led by Taiwan's Vice Premier Chen Lijun.
01:01The current deal means a 15 percent tariff for most Taiwanese exports to the U.S.,
01:06with exemptions for over 2,000 agricultural and industrial products.
01:10It also gives the U.S. more access to Taiwan's market for goods including ground beef and motor vehicles.
01:16One area of concern for Amcham, meanwhile, is the reliability of Taiwan's power grid.
01:22The country phased out nuclear power last year and is actively expanding its renewable energy sources.
01:28But American partners are worried that renewables may not meet surging industrial demand for electricity from the AI boom.
01:36Amcham suggests the government should raise the issue of energy security to the presidential level.
01:40And as firms invest in local production capacity, discussions about better treatment for foreign migrant workers
01:47also top the list of recommendations, as Taiwan is on the list of economies that need to better enforce a
01:53ban on the use of forced labor.
01:55So we strongly support removing goods that were made with forced labor.
02:00And we see that there is opportunity, coming up opportunity in July.
02:05There is a hearing and also commenting period.
02:08That is an opportunity for Taiwan and the U.S. to enter into dialogue and clarify concerns from each other.
02:16And also, more importantly, to coordinate compliance expectations.
02:21The paper offers over 200 recommendations that also include strengthening joint drone development
02:28and making Taiwan more appealing to foreign skilled workers.
02:31While the geopolitical and industrial alliance between Taipei and Washington has never been tighter,
02:37sustaining this momentum will require concrete policy fixes.
02:40Devin Tsai, Nairing Lin, in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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