Taiwan has been dealt a heavy blow in US President Donald Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” on trading partners, with the government denouncing the 32 per cent tariff on Taiwanese imports as “deeply unreasonable”.
The decision stunned Taipei, which sees itself as having already paid “protection fees” to Washington – notably top chipmaker TSMC’s US$100 billion investment in semiconductor manufacturing in Arizona and Taiwan’s pledge to increase defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP from 2.5 per cent.
Trump on Wednesday announced a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all imports starting from April 5, with higher duties for economies running larger trade surpluses with the US. Taiwan, ranked seventh on the list, faces a 32 per cent tariff from April 9. The tariffs, however, do not apply to semiconductors.
The White House defended the tariffs as necessary to “correct the injustices of global trade, reshore manufacturing, and boost US economic growth”.
Taiwan hit back at the move on Thursday. “This decision does not accurately reflect the trade and economic situation between Taiwan and the US,” cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee said. “It is deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable”.
