Taiwan is still hoping to reach a deal with the US in ongoing tariff talks after it was not among the first batch of 14 nations to receive tariff notification letters.
The US issued its first batch of tariff notification letters on Monday, but Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) yesterday confirmed that Taiwan has yet to receive one.
Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮), who lead the Office of Trade Negotiations, are in the US negotiating the tariff issue, the Executive Yuan said yesterday.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
The US in early April announced sweeping tariffs on imported goods, including a 32 percent tariff on Taiwan, but it later announced a 90-day suspension for nations to negotiate a trade agreement.
Fourteen nations — most notably Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand — on Monday received letters notifying them of new tariff rates starting on Aug. 1, with the threat that retaliatory tariffs on US goods would lead to even higher rates.
Tariff rates for South Korea, Japan and Malaysia were set at 25 percent, 32 percent for Indonesia and 36 percent for Thailand.
An anonymous source said that the high tariff rates for this first group of nations are examples of negotiations stalling, failing or having been deemed unnecessary to continue.
The US has reportedly indicated that negotiations with Taiwan are progressing positively, the source said.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Taiwan and the US are engaged in discussions on tariffs and that negotiators continue to seek the best outcome.
Developments would be announced to the public when available, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Office yesterday said that President William Lai (賴清德) held a videoconference call with Taiwan’s negotiation team in the US at midnight on Monday.
In the 50-minute call, Lai expressed his gratitude for their months of work, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said.
Lai emphasized that Taiwan has always sought to maintain positive relations with the US based on mutual benefit, and hope that the negotiations would balance trade and strengthen cooperation between the two nations, Kuo said.
The core mission of Taiwan’s negotiators is to safeguard the national interest, public health and food security, Lai told them, she said.
That Taiwan did not receive a letter could be an indication of positive developments in ongoing discussions between Taiwan and the US, political pundit Grace Woo (吳靜怡) said in a social media post yesterday.
Hopefully, lawmakers understand the importance of strengthening US-Taiwan relations, Woo said, adding that Taiwan’s status as a democratic partner should help it ensure that it is not “punished.”
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan and Chung Li-hua
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS