An ongoing trade war between the US and China, which could further escalate following Washington’s announcement of new measures against Beijing, would have limited effects on Taiwan, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday.
Wang’s comments came after the US late on Tuesday announced that it was starting the process of imposing 10 percent tariffs on another US$200 billion of Chinese goods as soon as September, expanding the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
“The Bureau of Foreign Trade has reviewed the new list and it is not expected to jeopardize Taiwan’s industries much, as it does not cover the notebook computer and handset sectors,” Wang said, adding that the two products make up the bulk of US-bound goods manufactured by Taiwanese companies in China.
Nearly 200 items, including animal, plant, mining, chemical, metal and textile products manufactured in China, are being targeted by the US, she said.
However, Taiwan still needs to watch closely follow-up developments to determine how much the US measures impact the Chinese market, as that could hurt China-based Taiwanese suppliers, she added.
Washington on Friday last week imposed a punitive 25 percent tariff on US$34 billion of Chinese machinery, electronics and high-tech equipment, including cars, computer hard drives and LEDs, as it had threatened, in a bid to force China to change what US President Donald Trump has claimed are unfair trading practices that have harmed the US economy.
China responded immediately with a 25 percent tariff on US goods of the same value, targeting mainly agricultural products and vehicles.
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