U.S. commerce chief says Taiwan will help train American chip workers

Washington, Dec. 3 (CNA) U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday that Taiwan will help train American workers for advanced semiconductor production, as bilateral tariff negotiations move into the final stage, even as Taipei maintains such training is not part of the talks.

Pressed in a CNBC interview on whether the pending agreement includes a plan for Taiwan to train U.S. chip workers, Lutnick declined to discuss any details, saying only that the discussions were continuing.

He pointed to a wave of investment commitments by American and Taiwanese semiconductor firms, including a pledge by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) for an additional US$100 billion, which would bring its total investment in the United States to US$160.5 billion.

Micron Technology and Texas Instruments have also expanded their U.S. plans, Lutick noted.

Combined, these add up to roughly US$300 billion in U.S. semiconductor-related investment, Lutnick said, adding that the total would increase if a deal is reached with Taiwan.

There is discussion of a plan for Taiwan to provide training for American workers to support advanced semiconductor production -- a key part of the U.S. administration's push to rebuild domestic supply chains, he said.

Lutnick's comments appeared to align with earlier Reuters reports that the tariff negotiations could include expanded Taiwanese investments in the U.S. and cooperation on the training of American chip engineers, although the terms remain subject to change until a final agreement is reached.

In Taipei, however, Taiwan's top trade negotiator Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮) told a legislative committee on Monday that Taiwan has not agreed to train U.S. technical personnel and that such a commitment is not part of the negotiations.

She denied reports that worker training was being considered in exchange for a reduction of U.S. tariffs on Taiwan goods. While the details of an agreement have not been finalized, there is a "very high" chance that the tariff rate on Taiwan imports into the U.S. will be reduced and will not be stacked on top of the existing most-favored-nation (MFN) rates, Yang said.

During the committee session, Economics Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said that workforce planning is essential for Taiwanese companies building fabs in the U.S., and he noted that firms such as TSMC are already running their own training programs.

On Aug. 7, the U.S. imposed a 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese imports, revising an earlier 32 percent proposal. The 20 percent was added to existing MFN duties and any anti-dumping or countervailing tariffs.

Taiwan's trade office said Monday that its team is negotiating under a "Taiwan model," seeking supply-chain cooperation, reciprocal tariff reductions without MFN stacking, and improved treatment under Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act.