Taiwan and the US have begun trade negotiations over tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in an interview this morning before reporting to the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the US, has already established communication channels with the US Department of State and the US Trade Representative (USTR), and is engaging in intensive consultations, he said.
Points of negotiation include tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and issues related to investment, procurement and export controls, he added.
Photo: Chen I-kuan, Taipei Times
Representative to the US Alexander Yui (俞大㵢) is also in communication with US government departments, Lin said.
Taiwan would also take into consideration negotiations between the US and Japan and other countries which have been subject to the new tariffs, he said.
In related news, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon has led a trade delegation to Taiwan which arrived on Saturday and is to depart tomorrow.
The Wyoming Energy Authority is to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Taiwan Association of Quantum Computing and Information Technology to initiate bilateral cooperation in quantum technology development.
The visiting delegation would also engage in discussions of US-Taiwan trade, particularly regarding projects and exchanges with Wyoming, Lin said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also been in diplomatic negotiations with Cambodia after it deported over 180 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China earlier this month, Lin said.
Personnel have been sent to Cambodia from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, he added.
The ministry has lodged a formal complaint against Cambodia for its “disregard of international norms,” Lin said.
Furthermore, Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑), a former assistant of National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) when he was the defense minister from 2016-2024, was expelled from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) earlier this month over allegations of involvement in a Chinese espionage case and is now being held incommunicado.
The case is currently under judicial investigation, Lin said, which involves looking into Ho’s previous responsibilities, his contacts and whether any sensitive information was leaked.
Lin said that Ho resigned before he took office, but the ministry established a task force to launch an internal political ethics investigation and is currently cooperating with judicial authorities.
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS