Taiwan, U.S. expect new round of tariff talks soon: Executive Yuan

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Taiwan and the U.S. both expect to hold a second round of tariff negotiations in the near future following a first discussion on April 11, an Executive Yuan official said on Wednesday.

The official, who wished to remain anonymous because he or she was not authorized to speak on the matter, was responding to a Wall Street Journal report in which U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not include Taiwan on the top priority country list for trade talks.

According to the report, Bessent listed Australia, Japan, South Korea, India and the U.K. as his top targets for new trade deals after U.S. President Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs.

A team of officials designated by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) participated in an online video conference with their American counterparts on April 11 and had a "constructive dialogue" on a wide range of economic and trade issues, the official said.

Those issues included reciprocal tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and export controls, the official said.

Both sides expressed an interest in following up on the first round of talks with another meeting soon, the official said, without providing further details.

(By Lai Yu-chen and intern Tina Wu) enditem/ls