US President Donald Trump’s administration expects to conclude initial tariff deals with some US trading partners within weeks, but negotiations with India are not “finish-line close” and no official talks with China are under way, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday.
Greer told Fox News that the Trump administration is focused on “targeted” deals aimed at increased market access for US exports, reducing tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers, and enhancing US economic security.
“I would say that we have deals that are, that are close,” Greer said. “As the negotiator, I don’t like to negotiate in public, but I will say we’re talking about a matter of weeks and not months, to have some initial deals announced.”
Photo: AFP
Asked whether a deal with India was imminent, Greer said it was not “finish-line close, but I have a standing call with India’s trade minister.”
He also cited frequent US-India meetings in recent days.
Greer said he would meet with representatives from Japan, Guyana and Saudi Arabia yesterday and the Philippines today, and is working closely with South Korea and the UK.
However, there were no official talks with China taking place, he said, although he held a call with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) announcing the steep “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2.
The Trump administration wants fair trade with China, Greer said.
“Instead of having an economy that’s financed by the government, we want to make real stuff and sell it, and it means we have to deal with foreign trade practices that are harmful, including in China,” Greer said.
On Wednesday, Trump reiterated there was a “very good chance we’re going to make a deal” with China.
“But we’re going to make it on our terms and it’s got to be fair,” Trump told a NewsNation “town hall.”
Meanwhile, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state media said yesterday that the US has approached China seeking talks over Trump’s 145 percent tariffs.
“The US has proactively reached out to China through multiple channels, hoping to hold discussions on the tariff issue,” Yuyuan Tantian (玉淵譚天) said in a post published on its official Weibo social media account, citing anonymous sources.
Yuyuan Tantian is not among China’s most authoritative state media outlets. The Global Times, which is owned by the newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, People’s Daily, has often been first to report China’s next steps in trade disagreements over the past few years.
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
CUSTOMERS’ BURDEN: TSMC already has operations in the US and is a foundry, so any tariff increase would mostly affect US customers, not the company, the minister said Taiwanese manufacturers are “not afraid” of US tariffs, but are concerned about being affected more heavily than regional economic competitors Japan and South Korea, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said. “Taiwan has many advantages that other countries do not have, the most notable of which is its semiconductor ecosystem,” Kuo said. The US “must rely on Taiwan” to boost its microchip manufacturing capacities, Kuo said in an interview ahead of his one-year anniversary in office tomorrow. Taiwan has submitted a position paper under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act to explain the “complementary relationship” between Taiwan and the US
RSS