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.
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.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his