Taiwan imports overtake China in USOPTIMISTIC: The DGBAS sharply upgraded its GDP growth estimate from 3.54 percent to 7.71 percent after the Taiwan-US trade agreement signing and given AI optimismBloombergThe US imported more from Taiwan than China for the first time in decades, as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs reshape trade flows while a global boom in artificial intelligence (AI) fuels demand for tech products. By contrast, shipments from Taiwan more than doubled during the same period to US$24.7 billion. In 2023, Taiwan exported more to China than to the US or anywhere else, but last year, the surge in goods going across the Pacific Ocean from Taiwan was roughly double those going across the Taiwan Strait. The US ran a US$12.7 billion trade deficit in December with China, a gap that only trailed the EU, Taiwan, Vietnam and Mexico. For the full year, the deficit with China fell US$93.4 billion to US$202.1 billion, while it more than doubled to almost US$147 billion with Taiwan.

Source: Taipei Times February 20, 2026 16:00 UTC