Fri, Apr 11, 2025 page3

• Lai lays out response strategy to US tariffs

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  Taiwan is to rapidly expand procurement of US goods and arms and remove barriers to free trade, President William Lai (賴清德) wrote in a Bloomberg opinion piece published yesterday, in response to US President Donald Trump’s massive tariffs measures that have roiled global markets.

  In an article titled “Taiwan has a roadmap for deeper US trade ties,” Lai laid out four core principles that are to guide the nation’s response to Trump’s tariffs.

  Hours after the “reciprocal” tariffs went into effect on Wednesday last week, Trump said he was authorizing a 90-day pause, but would maintain a baseline universal tariff of 10 percent for most countries, effective immediately.

  

  President William Lai is pictured at the Presidential Office in Taipei in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office

  The exception was China, he said, announcing a 125 percent tariff on that country.

  Lai said that like other nations, Taiwan would engage in trade negotiations with the US about tariffs.

  “While Taiwan already maintains low tariffs, with an average nominal rate of 6 percent, we are willing to further cut this rate to zero on the basis of reciprocity with the US,” he wrote. “By removing the last vestiges to free and fair trade, we seek to encourage greater trade and investment flows between our two economies.”

  Taiwan would also try to narrow the trade imbalance by “rapidly” procuring energy, agriculture and other industrial goods from the US, the president wrote.

  Moreover, Taiwan would pursue additional arms procurement, which is vital in defending against Chinese threats, he said, adding that those purchases are not reflected in trade balances.

  Third, Taiwan would establish a cross-agency called the “US Investment Team” to facilitate more investments in the US, he wrote.

  Taiwanese firms in the US, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, currently support 400,000 jobs. he wrote.

  Fourth is Taiwan’s commitment to removing barriers to free trade, Lai said, adding that his administration would address US concerns about “export controls and improper transshipment of low-cost goods through Taiwan.”

  “These steps form the basis of a comprehensive roadmap for how Taipei would navigate the shifting trade landscape, transforming challenges in the Taiwan-US economic relationship into new opportunities for growth, resilience and strategic alignment,” Lai wrote.

  “At a time of heightened global uncertainty, underpinned by growing Chinese assertiveness, closer trade ties are more than sound economics; they are a critical pillar of regional security,” he wrote.
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