Taiwan’s trade envoy yesterday met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the APEC meeting in South Korea, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) said today.
Minister Without Portfolio Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮), head of the Executive Yuan's Office of Trade Negotiations, is attending the two-day APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting on Jeju Island, which ends today.
She reported to the Executive Yuan that Taiwan and US representatives affirmed the first round of in-person tariff negotiations, held last month, and once again expressed their hopes for future economic cooperation and further negotiations, Cheng said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Two rounds of tariff talks have so far progressed smoothly, Cheng told the media event at the Executive Yuan, held as Premier Cho Jung-tai (長卓榮) approaches one year in office on Tuesday next week.
The tariff negotiation team’s priorities are to safeguard national interests and domestic industries, while protecting public health and food security, she said.
Since US President Donald Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs last month, the government has been working swiftly to establish response mechanisms and held the first round of talks with the US via video conference on April 11, she said.
At the end of last month, the team attended two days of in-person talks in Washington, as Taiwan was prioritized by the US for tariff talks, she added.
Negotiations did not touch upon exchange rate issues, although both sides acknowledged the importance of economic security, including topics such as country-of-origin fraud, export controls and investment screening, Cheng said.
The US is also currently reviewing plans to revise semiconductor trade restrictions, she said.
On Wednesday last week, Taiwan submitted a position paper explaining that additional US tariffs on its semiconductor-related industries would limit their expansion in the US and cause disruptions to the supply chain, she added.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
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