TAIPEI – Taiwan said on April 3 US President Donald Trump’s tariffs are “highly unreasonable”, and that it plans “serious negotiations” with Washington.
“The Executive Yuan found the decision highly unreasonable and deeply regretted it, and will initiate serious negotiations with the United States,” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee said.
Mr Trump announced sweeping new tariffs overnight that included a 32 per cent levy on Taiwan.
Semiconductor chips, a sector that Taiwan dominates and has been a source of friction between Washington and Taipei, were excluded from the levies.
But analysts warn that tariffs on components will have a knock-on effect for the critical chip industry.
Taiwan has drawn up plans to help local industries hit by possible US tariffs, Minister of Economic Affairs Kuo Jyh-huei said on April 1 ahead of Mr Trump’s announcement.
How the United States has calculated the tariffs was unclear and did not reflect the complementary trade structure between the two sides, the Cabinet said.
Taiwan’s exports to and trade surplus with the US have increased because of US demand for semiconductors and artificial intelligence-related products, as well as Mr Trump’s first-term tariffs and controls on China, it added.
This resulted in “the shift of Taiwan’s supply chain back to Taiwan and an increase in US demand for Taiwan’s information and communications products, reflecting the huge contribution of Taiwan to the US economy and national security”, the Cabinet said.
During Mr Trump’s first term in office from 2017 to 2021, he placed some Chinese companies on trade blacklists that curbed their access to crucial US hardware and software, benefiting US ally Taiwan as orders shifted to Taiwanese firms.
Taiwanese government officials have repeatedly said trade with the US has been skewed by an insatiable demand for Taiwanese technology products, such as advanced semiconductors, a sector dominated by the island, home to major chipmaker TSMC.
TSMC announced in March a new US$100 billion (S$134 billion) investment in the US.
The company declined to comment on the tariffs, saying it is in its quiet period ahead of its first-quarter earnings on April 17.
In a separate statement after the tariff announcement, the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan said it continued to stress Taiwan’s “indispensable” role in the US economy.
“In a time of growing geopolitical complexity, the US-Taiwan partnership is not only a driver of shared economic prosperity but also central to supply chain security and regional stability,” it said in a statement.
Mr Trump’s announcement followed the end of the latest round of Chinese war games around Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory despite the objections of Taipei’s government. AFP, REUTERS
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