President William Lai (賴清德) said that recent rapid appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar against the US dollar was primarily caused by market speculation in conjunction with Taiwan-US talks on tariffs, but his administration would safeguard national interests in negotiations.
In a recorded speech, Lai yesterday said that he regrets that market rumors have prompted the public to dump US dollars, rapidly pushing up the NT dollar on Friday and yesterday, with the local currency soaring 6.21 percent against the greenback in just two trading sessions.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Local news media cited analysts as saying that expected pressure from the US to strengthen the NT dollar largely dominated the market, as many Asian countries — including Taiwan — aim to reduce their large trade surpluses with Washington ahead of upcoming talks with the US.
Lai refuted the market rumor, saying that the latest round of bilateral trade talks did not involve currency issues.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Executive Yuan's Office of Trade Negotiation also said that the trade talks concluded on Thursday last week in Washington, the first in-person meeting on tariffs between both sides, did not include currency issues.
Taiwan's strong economic performance and healthy forecast were why the forex market expected stronger NT dollar, Lai said, citing the latest GDP data, which showed growth of 5.37 percent in the first quarter of this year, following a 4.59 percent increase last year.
The IMF even raised its forecast for Taiwan's GDP growth from 2.7 percent to 2.9 percent for this year, while downgrading its forecasts for neighboring economies such as Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore, he said.
Lai urged Taiwanese to remain confident in the local economy, even though the impact of a stronger NT dollar might vary across industries.
Meanwhile, Lai said the large trade surplus Taiwan enjoys with the US is not related to currency, as it broadly reflects strong demand from US buyers for Taiwan-made high-tech gadgets such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence applications, and information and communications devices.
Taiwan is at a critical moment in terms of tariff talks with the US, Lai said, adding that when the government's negotiating team faces its US counterpart, Taiwanese negotiators are determined to safeguard the national interest, protect industrial development and not sacrifice any industry.
Although Taiwan was unable to isolate itself from the turbulence on global financial markets after US President Donald Trump's April 2 tariff announcement, the TAIEX, the benchmark on the Taiwan Stock Exchange has recovered and returned to 20,000 points after plunging to 17,391.76 on April 9 as foreign institutional investors resumed their buying, he said.
Taiwan has never been named a currency manipulator by the US, so the tariff talks did not touch on the currency issue, Lai said, urging people with bad intentions not to spread market rumors.
However, Taiwan was named a currency manipulator in 1988 and 1992, and last year was on a monitoring list of currency manipulation.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS