Trump to raise $14B Taiwan arms sale with Xi at summit
Trump will raise a pending $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan with Xi Jinping at their upcoming summit; the package has not been formally notified to Congress.
President Trump plans to raise a pending $14 billion U.S. arms sale to Taiwan with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at an upcoming summit. The package cannot proceed until the White House sends the formal notification to Congress required by federal practice; that notification has not been transmitted.
Congress approved the package earlier, but federal rules require the president to notify lawmakers before the sale advances to implementation and delivery stages. Without the formal notification, the sale remains on hold.
Trump acknowledged pressure from Beijing, telling reporters, “President Xi would like us not to,” referring to China’s long-standing opposition to U.S. military support for Taiwan.
U.S. arms transfers to Taiwan operate under the Taiwan Relations Act and the 1982 Six Assurances. The Six Assurances included a commitment that the United States would not consult Beijing before making decisions on arms sales to Taiwan. Presidents have approved weapons transfers to Taiwan under that framework for decades.
Chinese officials have repeatedly opposed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Xi has warned that tensions over Taiwan could push U.S.-China ties into an “extremely dangerous place.”
The immediate detail to watch is whether the White House transmits the formal notification to Congress after the summit. If the notification is sent, the sale can proceed through the normal review and delivery process. If it is not sent, the package will remain in bureaucratic limbo.
The summit will be the next public moment when the administration’s handling of the pending sale becomes clear.
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