Talks are in progress with the US over a freeze on foreign aid programs — including military assistance to Taiwan — and proposed sweeping tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors, Representative to the US Alexander Yui (俞大?) said on Sunday.
On Jan. 24, the US Department of State temporarily halted almost all foreign assistance and paused new programs for 90 days to review whether they align with the policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration.
Washington told the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office that the measures were temporary and do not indicate that all funding would be cut, Yui told reporters in Washington’s Chinatown following a Lunar New Year parade.
Photo: CNA
The White House told the office it is not a targeted measure against any particular country, but is intended to gain a comprehensive understanding of whether programs initiated under the administration of former US president Joe Biden align with Trump’s policies, he said.
Asked how long the aid suspension could last, Yui said that “we have a mutual understanding,” but declined to discuss details of the freeze regarding Taiwan’s military aid.
On Monday last week, Trump told Republican members of the US Congress about plans to impose a 100 percent tariff on chips exported to the US, with the US president again saying that 98 percent of the semiconductor industry has moved to Taiwan.
Communication is ongoing between Taiwan and the US, which have good relations in the chip industry, Yui said, adding that Taiwan is not a competitor to the US, but a reliable partner that can help “make America great again.”
Trump also proposed plans to impose sweeping tariffs on semiconductors, steel, aluminum, copper and pharmaceuticals at the House Republican Issues Conference in Miami, Florida.
Taiwan’s representative office told the US that Taiwan’s chip industry is just one part of the supply chain that uses US designs and precision instruments before being delivered to companies that commission Taiwan to manufacture the products, Yui said.
For every US$1 earned from semiconductor sales, US companies receive US$0.38, while Taiwanese companies earn US$0.11, he added.
A decade ago, 80 percent of Taiwan’s foreign investment went to China compared with 11 percent today, while 40 percent of current investments are going to the US, proving that Taiwan-US cooperation would continue to strengthen, he said.
Trump hopes to create more investments and job opportunities in the US during his second term, and the US-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act passed last month would increase Taiwanese investment in the US, he said.
Taiwan would continue to prove its usefulness in the artificial intelligence industry among other science and technology industries, he added.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
Tainan’s initiative to recruit digital nomads has resulted in several German, US and Vietnamese nationals applying to live and work in the city, the Tainan Research, Development and Evaluation Commission said yesterday. That marked the city as the first in the nation to attract digital nomads, following the launch of the program last month, it said. Although all applicants so far have used work visas or tourism visas instead of the special digital nomad permit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the city government believes that the latter would be needed eventually, the commission said. The digital nomads recruited by Tainan would work
RSS