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
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