US-Taiwan transit arrangements remain sensitive amid the second Trump administration’s focus on trade talks and summits with Beijing. President Lai Ching-te has yet to transit the continental United States as president; his 2024 Pacific trip used only Hawaii and Guam, while an August 2025 plan for New York and Dallas stopovers en route to Latin American diplomatic partners was canceled after Washington declined the New York transit. US officials have repeatedly affirmed unchanged Taiwan policy following the September 2026 Trump-Xi meeting, which touched only lightly on the issue. Ongoing congressional and state-level exchanges, including visits by governors and defense delegations, sustain bilateral ties, yet any mainland transit approval hinges on avoiding escalation during tariff negotiations or the planned November China summit and December G20. These diplomatic constraints and historical precedent for cautious approvals continue to shape trader assessments of timing.