Under new trade investigations into forced labor and overproduction, Taiwan and the US hope to maintain the trade agreement established earlier this year, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said today in Washington.
US President Donald Trump’s administration in March launched two trade investigations under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, both including Taiwan, which could lead to higher tariff rates.
The investigations would have a “limited impact” on existing trade agreements, Kung told a news conference titled “Taiwan-US Supply Chains: Outlook for Cooperation.”
Photo: CNA
Kung this week led a delegation to the US to attend the SelectUSA Investment Summit, organized by the US Department of Commerce, in Maryland.
The first trade probe aims to assess manufacturing policies and practices, due to concerns about excess capacity and overproduction, while the second is focused on forced labor practices.
Taiwan does not have an overproduction issue, Kung said, adding that, if anything, it struggles to meet demand.
As for the second probe, Kung said that Taiwan is establishing mechanisms to ban imports from countries found to have used forced labor practices.
Taiwan and the US signed a reciprocal trade agreement in Washington on Feb. 12, setting US tariffs on Taiwanese goods at 15 percent and establishing preferential market access for US industrial and agricultural exports.
The memorandum of understanding, titled the US-Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, also granted most favorable treatment under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to Taiwanese semiconductors and related products.
However, Section 301 allows Washington to impose retaliatory tariffs over perceived unfair trade practices deemed unreasonable or discriminatory and harmful to US commerce.
The US Trade Representative is holding public hearings from Tuesday through tomorrow regarding the investigations into structural excess capacity and production.
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