Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday.
Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries.
US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it would be stacked on top of existing levies.
Photo: CNA
Cheng, who led Taiwan’s delegation to Washington for four rounds of trade negotiations with US officials, said Taiwan is still in trade talks with the US, including two videoconferences held on Thursday and Friday last week.
Taiwan and the US have held four in-person talks, in which both sides agreed there was continuous development, she said, adding that although an agreement was not reached before Thursday last week, lowering the tariff from the previously announced 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress.
Taiwan is also among the trading partners listed in an annex of the US president’s executive order issued on July 31, she added.
Taiwan hopes to hold further trade talks as soon as possible, as industries face the impacts and pressure from the new tariff, Cheng said, adding that the nation has the sixth-largest trade deficit with the US, with semiconductors making up 90 percent of that.
The opposition parties have accused the government of not telling the public that the tariff would be stacked on top of existing levies earlier, calling it “underhand dealings.”
Cheng said details of an agreement would not be publicized before negotiations are finished, adding that a nondisclosure agreement was also presented at the legislature’s confidential meeting last week.
The Cabinet is willing to report to the Legislative Yuan on the latest trade talk progress and the final agreement once it has been reached with the US, as well as a comprehensive impact assessment, she said.
The agreement text would also be delivered to the legislature for review, and explained openly and transparently, so there are no “underhanded dealings,” she said.
The recent trade talks with the US have been unconventional for all countries, as Washington had to hold talks with so many trading partners in only a few months, so the schedule was highly compressed, she said.
Taiwan has held more than 300 meetings since February in preparation for the trade talks with the US, she said.
There were new changes every time the delegation headed to Washington for talks, as the US delegation’s expectations, agendas and demands would gradually expand, so every country was faced with the challenges of opening their markets, Cheng said.
The US releases their trade policy agenda and trade report every year, so allowing the importation of vehicles and agricultural products is a challenge Taiwan always faces and included in the talks, she said.
Taiwan’s trade delegation engages in talks based on the principles of protecting national industrial interests and people’s health, she said.
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