After a tariff agreement was reached this week addressing key economic issues, Taiwan and the US can now focus more on security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, a former White House official said on Friday.

Alexander Gray, who served as deputy assistant to the president and chief of staff of the US National Security Council during US President Donald Trump’s first term, made the comments in an interview with the Central News Agency.

Gray called the trade deal a “very positive development in the US-Taiwan relationship,” as Washington has had several disagreements with Taiwan on trade matters over the years, going back to the first Trump administration.