Tariffs on Taiwan stir fears over waning US support against China

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1. Taiwan’s failure to secure a trade deal with Donald Trump before his August 1 deadline has deepened fears that Washington could water down security support for Taipei to smooth relations with Beijing.

   Trump on Thursday imposed a 20 per cent tariff on imports from Taiwan. The levies are due to take effect next week. The new rate comes at a sensitive time for Taiwan. President Lai Ching-te is embroiled in a bitter battle with Taiwan’s opposition parties, which have paralysed his minority government.

   The Trump administration’s actions, meanwhile, have raised concerns about its commitment to supporting Taipei in the face of pressure from China, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has threatened to take it over by force.

   Washington blocked Lai’s request to visit New York next week during a planned overseas trip to Taipei’s Latin American allies. The Trump administration is also considering a downgrade to bilateral defence talks, which it postponed in June.

   Observers in Taiwan and the US are concerned that those steps might reflect a broader shift in Washington’s Taiwan policy, as Trump seeks a trade deal with Beijing and a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

2. Per capita, Taiwan buys about $1750 from the USA. Meanwhile, the USA per capital buys less than like $400 from Taiwan.

   Trump is so fucking stupid on trade. Of course a country with less than a tenth of the population of the United States is going to buy significantly less BECAUSE AS A COUNTRY THEIR POPULATION IS SIGNIFICANTLY LESS.

   The trade disparity between the United States and Canada is BONKERS with Canadians buying far, far, far more from the USA than Americans (edit:from Canada).

   I get the beef with China. Many of its practicies are, at least, questionable and may lead to dumping and unfair competitive advantages. They are a big, well developed economy that still maintains high barriers in various ways.

   The EU is more complex, but there are discussions to have there.

   But Taiwan, Canada, even Mexico? The USA enjoys vast trade surpluses once you account for the fact that the USA is massively more populated.

3. I think the government does not understand the domino effects of losing Taiwan. No one would believe the security guarantees from the US. Japan and S Korea with their major sea lane controlled via Taiwan would be the first to switch sides. AUKUS, QUAD, or even NATO could fall apart gradually. The world would slowly drift towards authoritarianism.

4. Not a fan of Trump or anything, but imposing tariff on Taiwan does not signal the US will abandon Taiwan in case of Chinese invasion. The two things (tariff Taiwan while giving military support) can be both happening at the same time though I admit this doesn’t put America in a good light.

   The bigger deal is Trump admin refused to let Lai land in NYC, probably because he wants to appease to Chinese so they would come to his negotiation table. This means China holds more cards than Taiwan does in regard to dealing with Trump, and this does not look to change in the short term.

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