Taiwan has “never made any commitment to a 50-50 split on manufacturing chips, and would not agree to such terms,” Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said this morning, returning from a fifth round of in-person tariff negotiations with the US.
US President Donald Trump’s administration wants Taiwan to adopt a “50-50 split” on semiconductor manufacturing, with half of the chips used in the US to be made domestically, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in an interview with NewsNation on Sunday.
The concept differs from the current investment direction being discussed under negotiations regarding supply chain cooperation, the Cabinet said.
Photo: CNA
As the US expands its investigation into the semiconductor market under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act of 1962, paving the way for potential tariffs on semiconductors, Taiwan is seeking reductions to Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs and preferential treatment related to Section 232, the Executive Yuan said today in a statement.
The White House’s provisional 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods was implemented on Aug. 7, although negotiations remain ongoing.
The tariff negotiation team returned to Taiwan this morning, with the delegation led by Cheng, along with Minister Without Portfolio and Chief Trade Negotiator Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮), who leads the Executive Yuan's Office of Trade Negotiations, and members of the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The group held in-person meetings in Washington with the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the US Department of Commerce, with “some progress made,” the Cabinet said.
Once the two sides reach a consensus on tariffs, Section 232 preferential treatment and supply chain cooperation, a concluding meeting would be held to finalize a Taiwan-US trade agreement, the team said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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