Listing Taiwan as a country on the tariff board is geopolitically awkward, because China’s government claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan. China has urged Washington to reconsider.
‘Not the act of a friend’: World leaders slam Trump global tariffs
World leaders took aim at Donald Trump’s 10% global tariff plan, saying the ones who will hurt are Americans.
China has another reason to be annoyed at the United States.
Taiwan appeared at the top of a cardboard sign held up by President Donald Trump during his tariff announcement ceremony. The White House listed Taiwan as a country, which it’s not.
Chinese goods were already subject to a 20% levy at the U.S. border. Trump imposed an additional 34% tariff on Beijing on Wednesday − taking the total to 54% − as part of his program of “reciprocal tariffs” targeted at nations he says have been unfair to the U.S. The higher amount takes effect on April 9.
China urged Washington to reconsider. It also vowed retaliate if it didn’t. Its commerce ministry called for Washington to “immediately cancel” the tariffs, saying they “endanger global economic development.”
But listing Taiwan as a country on the tariff board Trump hoisted is a different kind of sting, and geopolitically awkward, because China’s government claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan. It views the island as a breakaway province. For decades, it’s vowed to unite Taiwan politically with Beijing.
Today, Taiwan is recognized as a sovereign and independent country by just 13 out of 193 United Nations member countries. The U.S. isn’t one of them. Taiwan cannot join international organizations such as the United Nations, or its specialized agencies, such as the World Health Organization.
Beijing has claimed democratic Taiwan as part of its territory since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, when Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists lost to Mao Zedong’s Communists and rebased their government in Taiwan. China has not dropped the threat of force to unite the two sides. In recent years it’s flown military planes over a corner of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone almost daily to signal its resolve.
Taiwanese officials on Thursday didn’t appear to know what to make Taiwan being designated a country.
“The partnership between Taiwan and the U.S. is strong,” Taiwan’s office to the European Union and Belgium told Euractiv, a website that focuses on EU-related news and analysis. “As for the naming, there are several possible reasons and we are not in the position to speculate about this.”
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
But China’s ambassador to the U.S. did have something to say about it.
“Taiwan is China’s Taiwan,” Ambassador Xie Feng wrote on X, shortly after Trump spoke about the tariffs. “We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort, but we will never allow any room for ‘Taiwan independence’ forces in whatever form.”