TAIPEI (TVBS News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) faces mounting internal and external pressures, Bloomberg reported Thursday (July 31). Taiwan's leader grapples domestically with setbacks from a major recall campaign, while internationally confronting the Trump administration's potential punitive tariffs. Taiwan has yet to reach a crucial agreement with the United States on tariffs, drawing significant international attention to the island democracy's precarious position.
Bloomberg opinion columnist Karishma Vaswani noted that President Lai's planned transit through the United States and visits to allied nations have stalled, reflecting Taiwan's diminished priority in U.S. foreign policy. The Trump administration, concerned about impacting trade negotiations with China, denied Lai's request to transit through New York, leading to delays or cancellations of his diplomatic itinerary. This decision highlights the United States' delicate balancing act between supporting Taiwan and maintaining relations with China.
Uncertainty shrouds the Trump administration's Taiwan policy, with threats of imposing tariffs as high as 32% and demands for increased Taiwanese defense spending. The United States remains ambiguous about military intervention if China attacks Taiwan. Despite Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.'s (TSMC, 台積電) the world's largest chip manufacturer commitment to expand investment in the United States to stabilize bilateral relations, it has had limited success in alleviating economic pressures and political indifference from the Trump administration.
Peter Enav, editor of the Taiwan Strait Risk Report, bluntly stated that Trump likes winners, and President Lai doesn't look like one right now. The harsh assessment underscores the mounting challenges facing Taiwan's leadership amid strained U.S.-Taiwan relations. Lai's administration confronts unprecedented diplomatic and economic pressures as Washington recalibrates its approach to cross-strait relations. ◼
