HEADWINDS: The new tariffs add to the challenges already faced by Taiwanese manufacturers, who have been squeezed by unfavorable foreign exchange rates
Local manufacturers of machine tools, molds, plastic products and electronic materials are expected to bear the brunt of the newly announced 20 percent US tariff, as their main competitors from Japan and South Korea face lower rates, an impact assessment report obtained by the Taipei Times showed ye
Some Asian nations reacted with relief yesterday after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs that in some cases were lower than threatened, and delayed by a week to Thursday.However, while countries such as Taiwan still hope to negotiate lower rates, uncertainty remains over transshipments and
The Ministry of National Defense is to propose a NT$600 billion to NT$900 billion (US$19.98 billion to US$29.98 billion) special budget to purchase command and control systems, as well as air defense missiles, from the US, a senior official said yesterday.Taiwan is in negotiations with the US over t
Ukraine’s Parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill presented by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that restores the independence of two of the country’s key anti-corruption watchdogs, reversing his contentious move last week that curbed their power and brought an outcry.Last week’
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday.The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than
TRENDSETTING: DPP lawmakers across Taiwan urged KMT-led local governments to also issue cash handouts using surplus tax revenue, citing the precedent set by the legislature
The Executive Yuan yesterday said it would not ask the legislature to reconsider a special act that includes a universal cash handout of NT$10,000 (US$334.27), but would seek a Constitutional Court review of the provision.Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference in Taipei
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said
Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire to
STRUCTURALLY STRONG: A DGBAS executive officer said that exports’ momentum is unlikely to vanish overnight, even if it faces tariff headwinds in the second half
Taiwan’s economy expanded by a stronger-than-expected 7.96 percent in the second quarter, the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2021, fueled by surging exports of high-tech products and robust capital formation, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterd
More than 12,000 children were injured or died as a result of traffic incidents last year, the third consecutive year that the number of child casualties rose in Taiwan, a National Audit Office report showed.Last year’s 393,882 traffic incidents resulted in 2,950 deaths, including 366 pedestrian fat
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday urged his allies to bring about “regime change” in Russia, hours after a Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv killed eight people, including a six-year-old boy.The overnight strikes reduced part of a nine-story apartment block in Kyiv’s western s
A former Macanese pro-democracy lawmaker became the first person to be arrested under the territory’s national security law, with authorities yesterday alleging that he had ties to foreign groups endangering China.The Chinese casino hub, which has its own legal system largely based on Portuguese law
MOVING FORWARD: The DPP would stand shoulder to shoulder with civic groups and supporters in the Aug. 23 recall targeting seven KMT lawmakers, including Johnny Chiang
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday apologized for the failure to recall any of the 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers targeted in Saturday’s vote, and said that he would take full responsibility for the results.“I know many people found the outcome of the recall votes disappointing and
WORLDWIDE: The earthquake, the largest in the region since 1952, led to more than 2 million people in Japan seeking higher ground and gridlock traffic in Hawaii
One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded yesterday struck Russia’s sparsely populated far east, causing tsunamis up to 4m high across the Pacific and sparking evacuations from Hawaii to Japan, with warnings of up to 1m waves in Taiwan.The magnitude 8.8 quake, which struck off Petropavlovsk on
Three 8U cube satellites (CubeSats) are to be launched in tandem with the Formosat-8 satellite project in October, providing further opportunities for Taiwanese industries to join the international satellite supply chain, the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) said.Backed by the National Science and Technol
The National Palace Museum’s treasured Jadeite Cabbage with Insects (翠玉白菜) and more than 100 other works from the museum’s collection are to be displayed in the Czech Republic for the first time starting in September, the museum said in a statement yesterday.The exhibition, “100 objects, 100 stories
The UK yesterday rejected Israeli criticism that it was rewarding militant group Hamas by setting out plans to recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel took steps to improve the situation in Gaza and bring about peace.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ultimatum, setting a September deadline,
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria
Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Rela
President William Lai (賴清德) currently has no plans to travel overseas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said yesterday, denying media reports that a planned trip to Paraguay via New York was blocked by the US.At a routine news conference, Hsiao denied a Financial Times re
Taiwanese researchers have successfully simulated the human brain’s synaptic learning and memory, demonstrating the possibility of simulated synaptic plasticity, which could be used in smart diagnoses, visual modules for self-driving systems, wearable devices or biorobotics.The research, which appea
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