TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s cabinet is still negotiating for more favourable tariff rates after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 20% levy on the island, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun said on Monday.
“Taiwan’s goal is to seek a better and more reasonable tariff rate from the U.S.”, Cheng told a news briefing, adding that negotiations with the U.S. were continuing, and that officials were prepared to report to Taiwan’s parliament on their progress.
Cheng said Taiwan was hoping to continue its tariff negotiations concurrent with a U.S. national security probe, which is being conducted under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
Taiwan has the sixth-largest trade deficit with the U.S., with 90% of that from semiconductors, as well as telecommunications and other tech products.
Taiwan’s TSMC is the world’s biggest contract chip maker and makes chips for tech giants such as Nvidia.
Rates for semiconductors, electronics as well as information and communication technology – which make up the bulk of Taiwan’s exports to the U.S. – will be subject to separate U.S. sectoral tariffs and are still to be worked out.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Faith Hung; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Michael Perry and Kate Mayberry)
