Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te on Sunday pledged to seek a zero tariff regime with the US and buy more from and invest more in the country, and said that Taipei would not retaliate in response to US tariffs – now put on pause by President Donald Trump.
Taiwan had been due to be hit with a 32% tariff, sending its stock market plummeting, though the key semiconductor industry was excluded.
Taking lawmakers’ questions in parliament about the government’s response to the tariffs, economy minister Kuo Jyh-huei said the plan being discussed was some US$200 billion in extra purchases over the coming decade by the government and state-run companies.
That does not include purchases by private companies, he added.
Asked about raising the proportion of Taiwan’s imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US from 10% to 30% of the total, Kuo said that was the “direction” being eyed.
Most of Taiwan’s LNG now comes from Australia and Qatar.
Speaking to reporters at parliament, Taiwan’s foreign minister Lin Chia-lung said there was now breathing room to have more detailed and in-depth talks with the US.
“We hope to take advantage of the huge US market, their excellent technology capital and talent, to form a Taiwan-US coalition, a joint fleet approach,” he added.
The US has received Taiwan’s trade proposals “and has also responded”, Lin said, without giving details.
In a statement after a weekly cabinet meeting, Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai said the government would seize the opportunity to have “direct and effective” talks with the US.
On Thursday, Taiwan’s benchmark stock index followed global markets higher in response to the tariff reprieve, opening up more than 9%, having plummeted the previous three trading sessions.
Taipei-listed shares in TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, as well as those for iPhone maker Foxconn, rebounded close to 10%. Both are major suppliers to US companies, including Apple and Nvidia.
However, speaking at a separate parliamentary committee session, Taiwan’s central bank governor Yang Chin-long said there remained much uncertainty for markets and the world economy about Trump’s tariffs.
But, Taiwan continues to hold more than 80% of its foreign exchange reserves in US Treasury bonds, he added.
“At present, more than 80% is ideal and we will assess whether to increase it,” Yang said.