The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucuses both criticized the Executive Yuan’s proposed NT$410-billion (US$12.6 billion) special budget today for being insufficient to comprehensively respond to US tariffs announced at the start of this month.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), along with Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) and other officials, went to the Legislative Yuan today to rally lawmakers to support the special budget passed by the Cabinet last Thursday.
This budget is urgently needed for Taiwan and its people and would provide support for disadvantaged groups and the economy, Cho said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
It allocates NT$150 billion for national security matters, NT$167 billion for social support and NT$93 billion for industrial support.
The industrial support funding was originally set at NT$88 billion to address the impacts of US tariffs on industries, but was increased by NT$5 billion to help industries expand domestic demand, replace outdated equipment and update their facilities.
The funding for this budget would come from previous years’ fiscal surplus, Cho said.
About NT$100 billion would be provided as a subsidy to Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), as he and President William Lai (賴清德) heard from industry experts that electricity prices must be kept stable amid tariff impacts, Cho said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said the DPP caucus would give the special budget its full support and ensure the public understands its importance and benefits.
“Support industry, care for people’s livelihoods and protect Taiwan,” Wu said.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said that while she is in support of responding to tariffs, she had doubts about the NT$410-billion special budget.
Of the funds, only NT$5 billion has been put towards helping companies replace equipment, while several sectors like finance, agriculture and labor received no funding at all, Wang said, questioning how Taiwan would be able to respond to broader US tariffs in the future.
Wang also questioned the NT$100-billion subsidy for Taipower, as the company has already received NT$300 billion in subsidies in the past, yet electricity prices have risen several times.
Without reforming energy policy, the subsidy would become a bottomless pit, Wang said.
Only one-quarter of the special budget is designated for supporting industries and ensuring employment, KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said, questioning whether that is sufficient given the risks workers and companies are facing.
TPP Legislator Chang Chi-kai (張啓楷) said the budget was “overinflated” and full of items snuck in by the government.
Chang criticized the Executive Yuan for lacking fiscal discipline and contravening the Budget Act (預算法) by reintroducing a NT$100-billion Taipower subsidy.
More than 200,000 joined the opposition’s protest on Saturday last week, demonstrating the public’s dissatisfaction with Lai and the Executive Yuan’s failure to listen to their voices, he added.
The Executive Yuan has yet to present a comprehensive impact assessment for the effect of tariffs on industry and labor, TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said.
While he supports providing resources to those impacted by high tariffs, it is necessary to carefully oversee and scrutinize how the funds would be spent, Huang said.
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