Taiwan signals tariff deal with US could come soon

TAIPEI/WASHINGTON – Taiwan signalled on Jan 15 that a tariff deal with the US could come soon, after its negotiators left for the latest round of talks with Washington, saying that both sides are expected to announce where they have reached “consensus”.

Semiconductor powerhouse Taiwan has been in talks with the US to get the tariff on its exports cut from 20 per cent to 15 per cent.

Taiwan Cabinet’s working group on Taiwan-US trade said in a statement that Vice-Premier Cheng Li-chiun and trade envoy Yang Jen-ni left for the US late on Jan 14 for the sixth round of face-to-face consultations.

The aim is to further reduce reciprocal tariffs, secure most-favoured treatment for tariffs on chips and other products, promote a better trade balance and form a strategic partnership in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain, it said.

“After this round of consultations, both sides are expected to publicly announce the content on where they have reached consensus,” it said, without giving details.

Taiwan will then schedule a date to sign documents with the Office of the United States Trade Representative and submit them for review in Taiwan’s Parliament, the statement said.

An announcement on the tariff deal could come by the end of January, said two people familiar with the matter.

But Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations spokesman Benjamin Hsu told Reuters that as the delegation had only just left, it was hard to say when “results can be achieved”.

“As for announcing the outcomes, that still requires agreement by both sides,” he added.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the meetings in Washington. It was not immediately clear which US officials would take part.

A major semiconductor producer, Taiwan has said its offer to the US included help in replicating the island’s success in building tech clusters around dedicated science parks. Under the deal, it is expected that chipmaker TSMC would commit to building more facilities in Arizona, according to one of the people.

TSMC has declined to comment on whether it would invest more in the US on top of the US$165 billion (S$212.6 billion) it has already pledged.

Taiwan’s chips are not subject to the US tariffs.

But on Jan 14, US President Donald Trump

imposed a 25 per cent tariff on certain AI chips,

such as the Nvidia H200 AI processor, under a new national security order released by the White House.

Addressing that new order, Taiwan’s statement said that it has previously held multiple discussions with the US and reached a consensus on preferential tariff treatment for semiconductors and related products.

“After confirming this with the US side during the current consultations, our side will provide a public explanation,” it added, without elaborating. REUTERS