Trump administration nears deal with Taiwan to cut tariffs

The deal would cut tariffs and include a commitment from TSMC, the island's chip giant, to build more US manufacturing plants, write Ana Swanson and Tripp Mickle from Washington

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The Trump administration is completing a trade deal with Taiwan that would reduce tariffs on the island’s exports and commit its largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, to invest significantly more in the United States, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The agreement, which has been under negotiation for months, is being legally scrubbed and could be announced this month. The deal would reduce the US tariff rate to 15% for goods from the island, the people said. That rate is in line with imports from Japan and South Korea, Asian allies that struck deals last year.

As part of the deal, TSMC would also commit to building at least five more semiconductor facilities, or fabs, in Arizona, roughly doubling the number of plants it has in the state, one of the people said. The timeline for the investments was not immediately clear. A spokesperson for TSMC declined to comment.

Since announcing tariffs on dozens of trading partners in April, the Trump administration has negotiated to reduce those rates in exchange for promises of investments and deals that fulfil US national security priorities. South Korea and Japan have pledged to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in US shipbuilding, nuclear energy, electronics and critical minerals.