Taiwan's President, William Lai, has announced plans to increase the country's defense spending to at least 3% of its GDP by 2025. This announcement came shortly after US President Donald Trump expressed his intent to impose tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductor imports.
During a news conference in Taipei, Lai emphasized Taiwan's commitment to safeguarding its sovereignty and enhancing national security in response to rising threats from authoritarian regimes. The government plans to propose a special budget to meet the 3% target.
Over the past eight years, the US has approved USD 26.26 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, with USD 18.76 billion authorized during Trump's first term. Lai reiterated Taiwan's intention to accelerate military modernization and deepen defense cooperation with the US.
Trump's recent statements in Washington highlighted his stance on imposing tariffs on chip imports, claiming Taiwan had "taken our [the US'] chip business away." The tariffs aim to reduce the US trade deficit with several nations, including Taiwan.
Lai's proposed spending increase requires legislative approval. For the current fiscal year, the Cabinet allocated NTD 647 billion for national defense, amounting to 2.45% of GDP. However, the opposition-led legislature has already made cuts and frozen parts of the budget.
Taiwan is an island located in East Asia, near China. It has its own government and operates like a separate country, but China claims it as part of its territory.
William Lai is the President of Taiwan. He is responsible for leading the country and making important decisions, like how much money to spend on defense.
Defense spending is the money a country uses to keep its military strong and protect itself from threats. It includes buying weapons, paying soldiers, and other military expenses.
GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product. It is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year. It helps measure how rich or poor a country is.
Tariffs are taxes on goods coming into a country. The US, under President Donald Trump, threatened to put tariffs on Taiwanese products, like semiconductors, to make them more expensive and reduce the US trade deficit.
Semiconductors are tiny electronic parts used in many devices like computers and smartphones. Taiwan is a big producer of semiconductors, which are important for technology.
Donald Trump was the President of the United States from 2017 to 2021. He made decisions about trade and other policies that affected many countries, including Taiwan.
A trade deficit happens when a country buys more goods from other countries than it sells to them. The US wanted to reduce its trade deficit by making foreign goods more expensive with tariffs.
Legislative approval means that the government leaders, like members of parliament or congress, need to agree on a decision before it can happen. In Taiwan, they need to approve the increase in defense spending.
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