Premier Cho receives delegation from the US-Taiwan Business Council

Premier Cho Jung-tai on Tuesday received a delegation from the US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC). The premier said that after nine and a half months of reciprocal tariff negotiations, Taiwan and the U.S. have achieved tangible progress with the signing of a Taiwan-U.S. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on investment cooperation. The premier expressed hope that the two sides will continue to deepen mutually beneficial partnerships and jointly build robust democratic supply chains, as Taiwan's government advances its 10 major AI projects and strengthens national security, energy stability and industrial growth.

Addressing two-way investment, the premier said Taiwanese companies, including MediaTek, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and GlobalWafers, are expanding investment in the U.S. Meanwhile, American companies are increasing their presence in Taiwan: Amazon Web Services (AWS) is establishing data centers serving the Asia-Pacific region; NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) will set up overseas headquarters in Taipei and Kaohsiung, respectively; Google is expanding its R&D infrastructure; and Micron Technology and Lam Research also plan to bolster investment in Taiwan.

At the 2025 SelectUSA Investment Summit, Taiwan fielded the largest foreign delegation, spanning industries such as semiconductors, AI, quantum technology and drones. Premier Cho stressed the substantive necessity of advancing the Taiwan-U.S. Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement (ADTA) to enhance bilateral trade and economic relations.

In his remarks, USTBC Chairman Keith Krach said that Taiwan-U.S. relations have come far over the past five years, with the two sides regularly convening the Taiwan-U.S. Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue (EPPD) since 2020, leading to the signing of a Taiwan-U.S. Science and Technology Agreement (STA). He also highlighted TSMC's May 2020 announcement to invest US$12 billion in the U.S. All these exchanges have laid the groundwork for a free trade agreement and the signing of the investment cooperation MOU.

Chairman Krach further pointed out that U.S. business investment in Taiwan can create a halo effect, encouraging additional investments from other U.S. allies. At the same time, TSMC's investment in the U.S. has catalyzed further investment by other semiconductor manufacturers, boosting investment and employment opportunities in the country.