The 20 percent tariff the US imposed on Taiwanese exports is “not the worst,” as securing a lower rate would have required Taiwan to pay a steep price, Tunghai University economist Darson Chiu (邱達生) said yesterday.
The tariff was higher than expected and far from ideal, but not the worst outcome, as Taiwan’s negotiating team held firm on its bottom line to avoid paying a much higher price, Chiu said.
Otherwise, Taipei could have reached an agreement with Washington for a 15 percent tariff — on par with Japan and South Korea, which are Taiwan’s direct competitors in the global market, he said.
US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs were first unveiled on April 2 as part of a sweeping package that included a proposed 32 percent duty on Taiwanese goods.
While the government has not disclosed details about its negotiations with the US, Chiu said that if Taiwan had agreed to invest US$400 billion in the US, it would have secured a 15 percent tariff — as the market had anticipated — but that investment would have been nearly 50 percent of Taiwan’s GDP last year and could have undermined the nation’s long-term economic development.
Japan has agreed to invest US$550 billion in the US and open its agricultural market, including rice, to US exporters, while South Korea has pledged a US$350 billion investment.
While a 15 percent tariff would have helped Taiwan maintain its competitive edge against Japan and South Korea, it might have come at a cost elsewhere, he said.
Taiwan would need the Legislative Yuan’s approval for any trade agreement with the US, and building domestic consensus would pose a major challenge for the government, Chiu said.
As Taiwan’s main goals during the tariff talks were to protect national and industrial interests, and ensure food security and public health, Chiu said he believed the government had carefully assessed the situation and chose not to make excessive concessions for now, opting instead to pursue further negotiations in the nation’s interest.
Natixis SA senior economist Gary Ng (吳卓殷) said the rate “is not the best outcome, as it is higher than Asian manufacturing powerhouses.”
“While the impact on Taiwan’s high-end semiconductors may be limited, as there are no alternatives with exemptions in place, other sectors can face greater pressure in exporting to the US due to the tariff gap with competitors,” he said.
Hudson Institute senior fellow Jason Hsu (許毓仁) said that “at face value, it is bad, but strategically, it is manageable.”
“If Taiwan can negotiate a bilateral deal quickly and mitigate the tariffs through concessions, investment and procurement, the scenario could transition from punitive to constructive,” Hsu said.
Meanwhile, a source on condition of anonymity said yesterday that Beijing continued to pressure Washington through back channels during tariff negotiations with Taipei, hoping to learn details of Taiwanese investments.
China does not want to see closer Taiwan-US ties, as that would not be in Beijing’s interests, the source said, adding that any trade negotiations between Taipei and Washington would strengthen Taiwan politically and affect cross-strait relations.
Beijing also does not wish to see Taiwan-US trade talks conclude sooner than US-China trade talks, nor does it wish to see Washington and Taipei use the opportunity to take bilateral commerce to the next level, the source said.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao and Bloomberg
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS