Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Sunday said that Taiwan will not retaliate with reciprocal tariffs against the US but will work on removing trade barriers.
He added that Taiwanese companies will continue to increase investments in the US following President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping import tariffs last week, including a 32% duty on Taiwanese goods, Reuters reported.
Taiwan, which maintains a significant trade surplus with the US, was among several countries affected. However, semiconductors – one of Taiwan’s key exports – are exempt from the new tariffs.
Addressing business leaders from small and medium enterprises at his residence, Lai acknowledged that Taiwan’s economy could face difficulties due to its trade reliance but remained optimistic about reducing the impact.
“In the face of the U.S. ‘reciprocal tariffs’, Taiwan has no plans to take tariff retaliation, and there will be no change in the investment commitments of enterprises to the United States as long as they are in the national interest,” he said, as per a statement from his office, quoted by Reuters
He added that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s top contract chipmaker, recently announced a new $100 billion investment in the US.
“In the future, in addition to TSMC’s increased investment, other industries, such as electronics, information and communications, petrochemicals, and natural gas will be able to increase investment in the U.S. and deepen Taiwan-U.S. industrial cooperation,” he said.
He further said that Taiwan would address long-standing non-tariff trade barriers, which the US sees as a benchmark for fair trade.
“Non-tariff trade barriers are an indicator for the U.S. to assess the fairness of trade, and Taiwan will proactively resolve non-tariff trade barriers that have existed for many years to make trade negotiations with the U.S. smoother,” Lai added.
