Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Investing

Breaking Down Taiwan’s Arms Backlog, Part 3: Comparing the Trump and Biden Administrations

by November 15, 2023
November 15, 2023
Breaking Down Taiwan’s Arms Backlog, Part 3: Comparing the Trump and Biden Administrations

Eric Gomez and Benjamin Giltner

This is the third of a three‐​part series examining US arms sales to Taiwan. The first article outlined our methodology for determining the weapons systems within the backlog and showed how traditional capabilities made up a majority of the backlog based on dollar value. The second article examined US maintenance sales to Taiwan and showed how traditional capabilities are more expensive to sustain than asymmetric capabilities.

In this article, we compare arms and maintenance sales made under the Trump and Biden administrations to show how US military support for Taiwan has changed over time.

The data used in this article came from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s (DSCA) notices of major arms sales. Because this article compares all sales from the Trump and Biden administrations, it does not distinguish between arms sales that have been delivered to Taiwan and those that are backlogged. For that reason, there is a small difference between the dollar amounts mentioned in the figures below and the dollar amounts for the arms sales backlog. The data were last updated on November 1, 2023.

As shown in Figure 1, the Trump administration announced more sales of weapons and maintenance to Taiwan across all four categories.

The two administrations came closest to one another on sales of maintenance items, with Trump announcing $1.9 billion and Biden announcing $1.6 billion. The Trump administration heavily favored sales of traditional weapons, selling a total of $10.4 billion in traditional capabilities. This was $6.5 billion more than the asymmetric capabilities the administration sold. The gulf between the two administrations in terms of overall arms and maintenance sales is also significant. Trump announced a total of $18.3 billion to Biden’s $4.4 billion.

Figure 1 also clearly shows that the Trump administration is primarily responsible for the current arms sale backlog to Taiwan. Based on data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, nearly every US arms sale announced before the Trump administration took office is now in Taiwan’s hands. The Trump administration essentially ran up a huge arms sale tab with Taiwan. However, due to weapon production timelines, the responsibility of delivering the arms and clearing the tab falls on the Biden administration.

Figure 2 compares the arms and maintenance sales of the two administrations by both the number of sales and dollar value.

While the Biden administration has lagged behind the Trump administration in almost every respect, it has doubled the number of maintenance sales despite a slightly lower dollar value of maintenance sales. This suggests a shift in priorities for arms sales to Taiwan under Biden. Now, the focus is on sustaining what Taiwan already has instead of announcing big‐​ticket items that would further inflate the backlog. Biden still has time in his current term to announce more arms sales. If current trends hold, these future sales will likely come with a relatively small price tag and be focused on either maintenance or munitions.

Many of the most expensive platforms that Trump announced will begin arriving in Taiwan in the next two or three years. This will give the next administration an opportunity to set the tone for future sales as the backlog begins to diminish. Regardless of who wins the 2024 election, it will be essential for the United States to expand Taiwan’s stock of asymmetric capabilities to deter a Chinese invasion.

Taiwan Arms Sales Backlog Excel File

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Massive Cost Overrun on Renewable Energy Project
next post
How Free Is Your State?

You may also like

Biden Hikes Corporate Tax Expenditures 92%

April 1, 2024

The Fed Must Adopt a Monetary Policy Rule

January 14, 2025

The Same First Amendment That Protects Lorie Smith...

July 13, 2023

What Else Was Trending in State Technology and...

August 18, 2023

Social Security’s Financial Crisis in Pictures

May 7, 2025

Reducing Spending Now: The Key to Growth, Not...

January 16, 2025

North Carolina Legislature Cracks Down on Delinquent Local...

June 23, 2023

The Case for Repealing the Corporate SALT Deduction

March 13, 2025

Leland B. Yeager on the Case for Free...

April 14, 2025

“Once Jews and Muslims Were Best Friends. They...

April 15, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • MP launches bill to make polluters pay for climate damage and resilience

      May 15, 2025
    • HMRC issues first individual tax avoidance Stop Notices to former solicitor Paul Baxendale-Walker

      May 15, 2025
    • UK economy posts strongest growth in a year, driven by exports and business investment

      May 15, 2025
    • EIS investments fall sharply despite tax breaks, raising concerns over regional imbalance and complexity

      May 15, 2025
    • University of Hull launches Railwhere to drive innovation in rail freight efficiency

      May 15, 2025
    • Bank of London under investigation by PRA amid financial uncertainty and governance overhaul

      May 15, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (7,966)
    • Investing (1,959)
    • Politics (15,225)
    • Stocks (3,084)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved