First phase of US tariff talks ‘smooth’, Taiwan president says

TAIPEI - Taiwan’s first phase of tariff talks with the United States went “smoothly” and the government hopes to take this challenge as an opportunity to promote a new Taiwan-plus-the-United States layout for trade, President Lai Ching-te said on April 14.

Major semiconductor producer Taiwan had been due to

be hit with a 32 per cent tariff

by US President Donald Trump until he put all tariffs except for China on hold for talks to take place.

Taiwan and the US on April 11 held their first direct talks about the tariffs.

Speaking to representatives from university alumni associations at the presidential office in Taipei, Mr Lai said Taiwan has overcome challenges before and has to work to turn crises into opportunities to transform the island’s economy.

“Taiwan has started negotiations with the United States, and the first phase of the negotiations went smoothly,” his office cited him as saying.

Mr Lai said he “hoped to use this challenge as an opportunity for Taiwan to promote the new layout of ‘Taiwan plus one’, that is, Taiwan plus the United States”.

Mr Lai has

pledged to seek a zero-tariff regime

with the US, and to invest more in and buy more from the country.

Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, announced in March an extra US$100 billion (S$131 billion) investment in the US.

Taiwan has long sought a broad bilateral trade deal with the US, and also wants similar deals with other US allies, especially as the government seeks to wean itself off reliance on China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own territory.

Mr Lai said Taiwan has already been signing trade and investment protection agreements with countries such as Britain and Canada, and also wants to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.

“By resolving trade barriers multilaterally, we can allow Taiwanese products to be sold around the world,” he added. REUTERS