Taiwan has risen to become the United States’ eighth largest trading partner. That’s according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, which says that Taiwan-US trade relations are thriving due to Trump-era tariff increases on Chinese goods.
The report also says the United States’ reliance on Taiwan’s semiconductors, among other goods, has pushed Taiwan ahead of Vietnam in terms of total trade. Taiwan sits just behind the UK in the rankings of US trade partners.
The report says that between September and December this year, Taiwan exported US$72 billion worth of goods to the US. That is a 70% increase in export volume when compared to the same period in 2017, the year before the US tariffs came into effect.
From 2017 to 2021, US exports to Taiwan increased 35%, reaching US$35 billion in value. Taiwan mostly imports American crude oil, machinery and cars.