Gov. Jared Polis is trying to plant Colorado’s flag in the middle of a growing U.S. trade courtship with Taiwan, touting a new deal he says could turn the state into a hub for high-tech business, research, and supply-chain work tied to federal trade moves in Washington.
Polis’s D.C. Post
On Tuesday, Polis shared photos from a Washington, D.C., meeting with Alexander Yui, Taiwan’s representative to the United States, on his official Facebook account. In the post, he said Colorado has signed a memorandum of understanding to “deepen cooperation” with Taiwan and to create “opportunities for businesses, innovation, and collaboration.”
The post cast Colorado’s outreach as a way to hook local firms into overseas partners and into emerging supply chains linked to recent federal trade decisions between Washington and Taipei.
What The MOU Covers
The memorandum was originally signed at the State Capitol on Feb. 3 with Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Director General Debby Huang and zeroes in on collaboration in quantum, photonics, precision agriculture and semiconductors, according to the Colorado Governor’s Office. State officials say the agreement grew out of a 2024 investment mission and spells out steps for information exchange, business delegations, and workforce and research collaboration.
How It Ties To The Federal Trade Deal
The state-level MOU follows a broader U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement announced in mid-January that cuts certain tariffs and is intended to spur large Taiwanese investment into U.S. semiconductor and AI capacity, a shift that could direct supply-chain and manufacturing work toward states that are ready for those projects, as reported by The Guardian. Colorado officials say the MOU is meant to position the state so local companies can tap those federal incentives instead of watching them pass by.
Local Lift For Colorado Firms
Business coverage notes the Colorado-Taiwan relationship is already worth roughly $1 billion a year in trade, and that the MOU is designed to give Colorado companies clearer paths to partnerships and investment in areas such as semiconductors and precision agriculture, according to ColoradoBiz. State economic-development officials say the point is to expand market access and diversify supply chains for Colorado exporters that want in on the action.
What’s Next
According to the Colorado Governor’s Office, next steps under the MOU include encouraging business delegations to visit each region and helping companies that are exploring expansion. Those are the concrete pieces Polis and state trade officials are likely to pitch to Taiwanese firms in the months ahead.
For now, the D.C. photo op and the new agreement signal Colorado’s bid to turn federal trade momentum into homegrown economic opportunity rather than a distant headline.
