US President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on most tariffs gives breathing space for more in-depth talks, and Taiwan hopes to take advantage of the “huge” US market for more balanced trade, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday.
The US’ baseline tariff of 10 percent is to remain in place, but the additional 22 percent tariff has been suspended for 90 days, Lin said during a legislative hearing.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) asked whether the 75-plus countries that had proposed talks with the US instead of taking retaliatory actions had all been listed for the 90-day pause.
Photo: CNA
Lin said he had confirmed with the US that Taiwan was on the list, but he was not sure about the other countries.
“The temporary baseline 10 percent tariff is now giving Taiwan a relative advantage point [pending further talks],” Lin said.
On Wednesday last week, Trump announced a universal baseline tariff of 10 percent on all imports to the US and higher rates on trading partners the White House deemed the “worst offenders” in “unfair trade practices,” including Taiwan.
In anticipation of the 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, which took effect briefly on Wednesday, the government had been preparing for the economic consequences.
However, in a dramatic turn on Wednesday, Trump said he was pausing the “reciprocal” tariffs on the targeted countries for 90 days, except for China, which is to be subject to a 125 percent tariff.
Prior to yesterday’s legislative session, Lin told reporters that Taiwan was prepared to engage in talks with the US on the tariff issue.
Trump’s latest announcement of a 90-day pause would give both sides more time to prepare for “deeper, more thorough” bilateral negotiations on the issue, he said.
The negotiation team is led by Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and includes members from the Office of Trade Negotiations, as well as national security and foreign affairs agencies, the Cabinet said.
On Wednesday, Lin said that Taipei was in contact with the US, which has “officially acknowledged our outreach.”
“Taiwan has been included on the list for upcoming trade talks,” he said, without elaborating.
Lin did not provide a timeline for the negotiations.
However, he said that the two sides had been exchanging information, with the US requesting additional data from Taiwan, which the government was in the process of providing.
The government is also looking to boost purchases from the US to narrow the trade deficit.
Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) told lawmakers that state-backed bodies could purchase an additional US$200 billion of goods from the US over the next decade, including a one-third increase in the share of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported from the country.
That does not include purchases by private companies, he added.
Asked about raising the proportion of Taiwan’s imports of LNG from 10 percent of the total, Kuo said that was the “direction” being eyed.
Most of Taiwan’s LNG comes from Australia and Qatar.
Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told lawmakers that the formula used by the US to calculate “reciprocal” tariffs is unreasonable and too rough, but emphasized that it targets all countries globally, not Taiwan specifically.
Trump did not take into account the fact that Taiwan’s trade surplus with the US was because of his country’s need for Taiwan’s products, he said, adding that Taiwan has contributed to the US’ productivity and economy.
Yang said that a suggestion from legislators that the central bank use Taiwan’s holdings of US Treasury securities as a bargaining chip was a “good idea.”
If Taiwan enters negotiations with the US, it should highlight that while the US has to issue government bonds to finance its deficits, Taiwan’s long-term investment in US Treasuries plays a key role in helping to lower US borrowing costs, he added.
Additional reporting by Reuters
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS