Taiwan has sent officials to Washington to discuss possible U.S. tariffs by President Donald Trump, and has made preparations should they be imposed, Economy Minister Kuo Jyh-huei said on Saturday.
Tech firms in Taiwan, home to the world’s largest contract
chipmaker TSMC, face the possibility Trump will follow
through on threats to put tariffs on imported chips after he
accused Taiwan during last year’s campaign of having stolen
American semiconductor business.
Trump said on Friday that he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs
on many economies by Monday or Tuesday, a major escalation of
his offensive to reshape global trade relationships in ways he
considers to be in America’s favour.
Speaking to media persons in Taipei, Kuo said the ministry has
made preparations for any U.S. tariffs, declining to give
details.
Asked about chip tariffs, Kuo said he had dispatched a
deputy minister and a deputy section chief to Washington.
He did not identify them or offer further details.
They will “as much as possible give some rather good
explanations to Trump’s people” about Taiwan’s chip industry, he
added, without elaborating.
“Taiwan is the United States’ best partner, ” he said.
Taiwan has repeatedly said its chip sector and U.S.
companies have “win-win” cooperation.
But Taiwan runs a large trade surplus with the United
States, which surged 83% last year, with the island’s exports to
the U.S. hitting a record $111.4 billion, driven by demand for
high-tech products such as semiconductors.
Kuo suggested Taiwan could follow Japan’s example and import
more U.S. energy.
“In reference to Japan, he has great determination when it
comes to energy,” he said, referring to Trump. “We hope we can
satisfy U.S. demands when it comes to this.”
Japan will soon begin importing a record amount of U.S.
liquefied natural gas, Trump said on Friday after talks with
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Australia and Qatar are currently Taiwan’s main suppliers of
LNG.
