US car imports are part of the tariff talks with Washington, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday, but she offered few details on the discussions.
Levies on US car imports, and their compliance with safety and emissions standards were still being negotiated, she added.
Cheng made the statement in response to a question on whether Washington had demanded zero tariffs on US-made vehicles imported into Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Association
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said there were already rumors about zero tariffs and that the US had made similar demands from Japan and South Korea.
Cheng said that Washington expressed hope for greater openness and expanded market access for US-made vehicles, but she did not provide further details.
Technical aspects were also being discussed, the vice premier said, adding that the outcome would be presented to the legislature and the public once finalized.
Cheng said she has held three videoconferences with US officials since Aug. 1.
The talks remained focused on securing a better tariff rate, ensuring a fair process under US trade law and preventing stacked tariffs, or multiple tariffs being applied to the same product, she said.
They also covered Section 232 of the US’ Trade Expansion Act, as Taiwan has the sixth-largest trade surplus with the US, with about 90 percent of that coming from semiconductors, and information and communication technology products, she added.
The Taiwanese negotiating team would try to seek the best tariff for semiconductors, Cheng said, adding that she expected Washington to arrange a concluding meeting once a certain level of agreement was reached.
In April, the US launched an investigation under Section 232 of the act for a possible tariff on semiconductor imports.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump threatened a tariff of about 100 percent on imported semiconductors, but said there would be no charge if companies were building them in the US.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS