US President Donald Trump said yesterday that the US is to place a tariff of approximately 100 percent on imported semiconductor chips.
"We'll be putting a tariff of approximately 100% on chips and semiconductors. But if you're building in the United States of America, there's no charge," Trump said in the Oval Office.
The announcement came just hours before Trump's country-specific tariffs were set to take effect. It also came amid mounting concern in Taiwan — a leading producer of the world's most advanced semiconductors — about the potential impact a chip tariff could have on its semiconductor industry and overall economy.
Photo: Reuters
Taiwan is home to the world's leading chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), and plays a vital role in the global supply of semiconductors used in everything from smartphones and cars to military equipment.
In March, TSMC pledged to invest an additional US$100 billion to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
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