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Eight Senators Just Asked Trump To Sign Off On $14 Billion In Arms For Taiwan Before He Meets Xi

Published May 11, 2026
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Summary:
  • Eight U.S. senators sent Trump a letter pushing him to sign off on a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan that Congress voted for in January 2025.
  • The push lands three days before Trump flies to Beijing to meet Xi Jinping on May 13.
  • Taiwan just passed a $25 billion defense budget, but most of the gear cannot ship until the White House notifies Congress.

Taiwan's lawmakers just freed up $25 billion to buy U.S. arms.

Most of that gear cannot ship yet, since the White House has not signed off on the deal.

And the White House lands in Beijing in three days.

Eight U.S. senators sent Trump a letter on Friday with one simple ask: do not trade Taiwan for a win with Xi.

What Is Being Held Up

The $14 billion package was voted in by Congress in January 2025, and it is still sitting on Trump's desk.

The gear in it is the stuff Taiwan would lean on if Beijing ever moved on the island.

It covers drone defense, a battle command system, and mid-range arms.

All of that is built in the U.S. and just waiting on one notice to Congress to ship out.

Trump also signed off on a smaller $11 billion arms deal in December and has not pushed that one out the door either.

He even said in public that he and Xi have talked about the Taiwan sale.

The line from the senators was short and sharp.

"American support for Taiwan is not up for negotiation," the letter said.

The letter was led by Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, with Coons, Curtis, Duckworth, Rosen, Kim, and Slotkin signing on.

Taiwan's $25 billion defense vote went through last week, even with strong push-back from Beijing.

Most of that new budget is set to pay for U.S.-made arms once Trump signs off.

Want the moves Wall Street is watching this week? Market Briefs breaks it all down every weekday morning, and you get a free investing masterclass thrown in when you join.

Why Wall Street Cares

Taiwan makes most of the world's top-end chips.

TSMC alone makes the silicon inside iPhones and Nvidia AI servers.

That means any shake-up in Taipei is a shake-up in every chip stock.

The senators put it plainly in the letter.

They warned that if Beijing took the island, the U.S. would face long-term price hikes and broken supply chains for years.

That is not just a foreign news story.

It lands right on every investor's portfolio.

The Taiwan deal also creates U.S. jobs, since the arms are built in U.S. plants.

The senators said the deal would add work to the defense base at home at a time of rising global risk.

What To Watch

The Trump-Xi summit runs from May 13 to May 15.

The market will watch one thing: does Trump sign off on the arms deal in public?

If he stays quiet, that is the news.

A clear yes would lift Taiwan-linked stocks.

A clear no, or even silence, could weigh on chip names with Taiwan ties.

Investors will also watch what Beijing says after the summit on Friday, since China may push back on any new U.S. arms move toward Taipei.

For five-minute morning coverage of stories like this, 350,000+ investors read Market Briefs, and a 45-minute investing course comes with it as a free bonus.

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