Cabinet says 20% tariff not final, talks with U.S. will continue

Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) A U.S.-Taiwan economic and trade task force under the Executive Yuan said Friday that the 20 percent tariff announced earlier in the day by the White House on Taiwanese goods is "tentative," and that negotiations between the two sides will continue.

The task force said the "tentative" tariff was announced because the United States and Taiwan had not concluded talks by the Aug. 1 deadline, due to a schedule set by Washington, which had to hold negotiations with multiple countries.

Aug. 1: Taiwan says negotiations with U.S. to lower 20% tariff still ongoing

Both sides are now planning the next round of talks to reach an agreement and reduce the tariff, it said.

Trump's tariff plan was first unveiled on April 2 as part of a sweeping package that included a proposed 32 percent duty on goods from Taiwan.

Implementation was initially delayed by 90 days, moving the deadline to July 9, and later extended to Aug. 1 to give Washington's trading partners more time to negotiate a lower tariff.

The 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods is higher than the rates imposed on several neighboring countries -- including Japan and South Korea (15 percent), and Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines (19 percent) -- but lower than India's 25 percent and equal to Vietnam's 20 percent.

Concerns over Taiwan's competitive edge have grown, as its tariff is higher than those imposed on Japan and South Korea, with many of their products overlapping in the global market.

Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) recently led a delegation to Washington for the fourth round of trade talks, the task force said. The two sides completed "technical consultations" during the visit.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressed optimism about the progress, according to the task force.

Both sides still need further talks to reach a final agreement, and Taiwan will seek to meet with U.S. representatives as soon as possible to negotiate a lower tariff, the task force said.

According to the White House, countries that have reached "meaningful" trade and security agreements with the U.S. include the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam -- but not Taiwan.

"Some countries, through negotiations, have offered terms that, in the President's judgment, do not sufficiently address the national emergency he declared on April 2," the White House said in a statement.

Future talks are expected to address a possible tariff on semiconductors -- the backbone of Taiwan's exports -- threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump, the task force said.

The Trump administration has launched an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 for a possible tariff on semiconductor imports.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which is investing US$65 billion in Arizona and has pledged an additional US$100 billion, has warned Washington that future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and jeopardize its investment plans in the state.

Echoing the task force, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Taiwan's negotiating team will follow President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) instructions to "protect national and industrial interests and ensure food security and public health" during the talks, so Taiwan can move forward.