New Poll: 82% of Americans View Taiwan as an Independent Country, Majority Support U.S. Diplomatic Recognition
According to a new poll by the U.S.-based Humanity for Freedom Foundation, 82% of Americans believe Taiwan is an independent country, 68% hold a favorable view of Taiwan, and 58% support formal U.S. recognition and the establishment of full diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
The results reflect “significant bipartisan agreement on key issues related to Taiwan’s sovereignty and its importance to the United States,” the foundation said in an April 28 press release.
When asked about Taiwan’s status, only 3% of American respondents agreed with China’s claim that Taiwan is part of its territory, while 15% were unsure.
Just 4% of participants held an unfavorable view of Taiwan, and 28% had no opinion.
On the question of U.S. diplomatic recognition, only 5% opposed establishing full diplomatic ties with Taiwan, while 37% were unsure.
Views were more divided on the issue of military defense: 39% supported maintaining the U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity,” 32% favored a clear U.S. commitment to militarily defend Taiwan, 27% were unsure, and only 3% said the U.S. should halt arms sales and explicitly refuse to defend Taiwan in the event of an invasion.
About 88% of respondents said Taiwan is important to the United States, including 32% describing it as “very important.”
Calling the results a “clear message,” Humanity for Freedom Foundation President Dane Waters said the U.S. “must abandon the policy of strategic ambiguity and formally recognize Taiwan.”
“The American people stand firmly with Taiwan. It is time for the U.S. government to reflect this sentiment by strengthening our diplomatic and strategic relationship with Taiwan,” he said, describing Taiwan as “a democratic ally and a critical partner.”
“The numbers speak for themselves. Americans understand the strategic importance of Taiwan,” said Paul Jacob, a board member of the foundation. “Protecting Taiwan is not just a moral imperative, but also essential for U.S. economic and national security interests,” he emphasized.
The poll, conducted by Remington Research Group between March 15 and 18, 2025, surveyed 800 likely American voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, the foundation said.
Sources:
[1] Humanity for Freedom Foundation
[2] Focus Taiwan
[3] Taipei Times
Proof of Origin to Be Required for Taiwan-Made Products Exported to the U.S.
Starting May 7, all products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the United States must include a signed declaration of origin, Taiwan’s International Trade Administration (ITA) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced on April 25. The measure is intended to prevent goods produced elsewhere from using Taiwan as a transit channel to evade higher U.S. tariffs.
The ITA stated that violators could face a warning, fines ranging from NT$60,000 to NT$3 million (US$1,845 to US$92,234), and, in the most serious cases, revocation of their exporter and importer licenses.
On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump announced varying levels of “reciprocal tariffs” on countries with significant trade surpluses with the United States. Taiwan was assigned a 32 percent tariff, while some other countries in the region face even higher rates — 46 percent for Vietnam and 37 percent for Thailand.
One week later, on April 9, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the implementation of the higher tariffs. However, a universal 10 percent baseline tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further announced exemptions for computers, smartphones, and semiconductors from the new tariffs.
Meanwhile, the United States currently imposes a 145 percent tariff on all Chinese goods, while China has retaliated with a 125 percent tariff on all U.S. exports.
The ITA warned that such U.S. tariff policies could incentivize countries facing higher tariffs to reroute their goods through nations with lower tariff rates by altering country-of-origin labels, repackaging, or applying minimal processing before exporting to the U.S.
To address this, the Taiwanese government aims to prevent Chinese goods from being rerouted through Taiwan, as such practices would undermine its efforts to secure preferential tariff treatment with the U.S. and damage Taiwan’s international credibility, the ITA said.
The signed declaration of origin reflects a commitment between Taiwanese businesses and the government to work together to prevent China from “whitewashing” the origin of its products and using Taiwan as a channel to bypass higher U.S. tariffs, the bureau added.
Beginning May 7, the declaration form will be a mandatory document for all Taiwan-made products exported to the United States. Shipments lacking the required documentation will be denied customs clearance, the ITA said.
Sources:
[1] Taiwan’s International Trade Administration (in Hanji)
[2] Focus Taiwan
[3] Taipei Times
U.S. Commerce Secretary Attends Groundbreaking of TSMC’s Third Arizona Fab
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) broke ground on its third semiconductor fabrication plant in Arizona on April 29, with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick attending the ceremony.
Lutnick visited TSMC’s facility in Phoenix, where the groundbreaking for the third fab took place, according to an April 29 press release from the U.S. State Department.
In the statement, Lutnick emphasized the significance of TSMC’s investments in the United States, stating: “We are at TSMC Arizona to celebrate the return of American manufacturing.”
Welcoming Lutnick’s visit, TSMC Chairman and CEO C.C. Wei highlighted the progress of the company’s Arizona operations, stating that the new fab “will introduce more advanced semiconductor capacity to the United States” to support the needs of the nation’s leading innovators in smartphones, high-performance computing (HPC), and artificial intelligence (AI).
TSMC’s major U.S. customers — including Apple, Nvidia, and AMD — also voiced strong support for the project.
As the world’s largest contract chipmaker, TSMC is already investing US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs:
- The first fab in Arizona has begun production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process.
- The second fab, currently under construction, is scheduled to begin production in 2028 and will feature more advanced 3 nm, 2 nm, and A16 process technologies.
- The third fab is expected to begin production by 2030, utilizing 2 nm or more advanced process nodes.
In March 2025, TSMC announced plans to invest an additional US$100 billion in the United States to construct three more semiconductor fabs, two packaging facilities, and a major R&D center.
With a total projected investment of US$165 billion, TSMC’s initiative represents the largest single foreign direct investment in U.S. history.