The de facto U.S. Embassy in Taipei announced Wednesday that three U.S. Senators will visit Taiwan this week to have discussions with senior Taiwanese officials about issues such as trade. This comes at a time when Taipei is pushing ahead with tariff negotiations with Washington.
Taiwan’s largest international backer and weapons supplier is the United States, despite their lack of formal diplomatic relations.
Taiwan held its first direct discussions with U.S. officials to discuss this issue last week. Taiwan was due to face 32% tariffs under President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, which has now been paused.
The American Institute in Taiwan said in a statement that Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.; Ted Budd, R-N.C.; and Chris Coons, R-Conn., were visiting until Saturday as part of a broader visit to the region.
The delegation will meet with senior Taiwanese leaders for a series of high-level discussions on U.S.-Taiwan relationships, regional security issues, trade, investment, and other important topics of mutual interest, it stated.
“Their visit highlights the United States’ commitment to its partnership and reaffirms a shared commitment by both of us to strengthen a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
Ricketts chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee for East Asia, Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.
