Report to Congress on Taiwan and U.S. Relations

The following is the Aug. 5, 2026, Congressional Research Service report, Taiwan: Background and U.S. Relations.

From the Report

Taiwan, which also calls itself the Republic of China (ROC) and was once known as Formosa, is a self-governing East Asian democracy located across the Taiwan Strait from mainland China. Taiwan’s popularly elected leaders govern 23.3 million people on the main island of Taiwan; the archipelagoes of Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu; and other outlying islands. Taiwan is a semiconductor manufacturing powerhouse and, in 2025, was a top-five United States merchandise trading partner.

Since 1979, when the United States broke diplomatic relations with the ROC in order to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the United States and Taiwan have maintained close unofficial relations. The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (P.L. 96-8; 22 U.S.C. §§3301 et seq.) provides the legal basis for unofficial relations. PRC leaders have long expressed a determination to take control of Taiwan, whether peacefully or by force. U.S. policymakers have debated whether—and, if so, how and how much—to support the people of Taiwan against PRC threats and coercion. A steady growth in PRC military capabilities since the 1990s and the increased intensity of PRC operations around Taiwan since 2022 have lent urgency to such congressional debates.

Download the document here.