Taiwan is to work with the US to ensure the beneficial terms it has already agreed to do not change despite ructions following a US Supreme Court ruling striking down US President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday.
Trump on Monday warned countries against backing away from trade deals negotiated with the US, saying that he would hit them with much higher duties under different trade laws.
Taipei has struck two deals with the White House to lower tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15 percent from 20 percent.
Photo: CNA
Under last month’s agreement, Taiwan companies are to invest US$250 billion to boost production of semiconductors, energy and artificial intelligence in the US, while Taiwan would also guarantee an additional US$250 billion in credit to facilitate further investment.
The second deal, reached this month that confirmed the tariff cut to 15 percent without stacking them on existing rates, commits Taiwan to a schedule for eliminating or lowering tariffs on nearly all US goods, and to significantly boost purchases of US goods such as natural gas.
Cheng, who led the talks with the US, said the government has been in touch with Washington, although it did not say with whom.
“I think our contacts so far have also been positive. The US side understands that this is an agreement that benefits both sides. I believe we can achieve this objective, and we are confident that we can do so,” she told reporters, referring to last month’s Taiwan-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade.
This is not a reopening of negotiations, and Taipei would seek to engage with the US to understand how Taiwanese companies would continue to receive the best treatment possible under that deal, even as the White House looks at other tariffs, she said.
Countries that have already signed agreements with the US should have a “relatively advantageous foundation when facing any future alternative tools the US might adopt through new legal avenues,” she said.
Preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s semiconductor exports already agreed with the US would also not change, but Taiwan’s high trade surplus with the US is a risk going forward, Cheng added.
The deal with the US includes 2,072 types of tariff-exempt goods for Taiwan, Cheng said.
Should the US apply Section 122 measures on Taiwan, it would negatively affect GDP, total export volume and employment, she said.
Taipei is monitoring whether the Trump administration would impose tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act and Section 338 of the Tariff Act, she said.
Taiwan’s auto parts exports should not be affected, as they are protected by last month’s deal under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said.
Chemicals, construction materials, textiles and machinery could be negatively affected compared with the 2024 tariff regime, he said.
Taiwan is looking at 0.08 percent GDP growth under the current tariff regime, while reviving Section 232 advantages would boost the number to 0.18 percent, National Development Council Minister Yeh Chun-hsien (葉俊顯) said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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