Taiwan is among the countries listed by US President Donald Trump for a 90-day pause of his "reciprocal" tariffs, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said today.
The US' baseline tariff of 10 percent on Taiwan goods, which was implemented yesterday, would remain in place, but an additional 22-percent tariff has been suspended for 90 days, Lin indicated during a legislative hearing on the issue.
Photo: Tsung Chang-Chin, Taipei Times
As of press time, the US government has not released a list of the countries included in the tariff suspension plan.
In a stunning reversal, Trump said yesterday he would temporarily lower the hefty duties he had just announced last week on dozens of countries while further ramping up pressure on China, pushing global stocks higher.
Taiwan had been due to be hit with a 32% tariff, sending its stock market plummeting, though the key semiconductor industry was excluded.
Speaking to reporters at parliament, Lin said the government was dedicated to increasing its purchases from and investments in the US and to reduce Taiwan’s trade surplus with its most important international backer.
"Now that we have an additional 90 days, we can discuss Taiwan-US economic and trade cooperation in a more detailed and in-depth manner," he said.
"We hope to take advantage of the huge US market, their excellent technology capital and talent, to form a Taiwan-US coalition, a joint fleet approach," he added.
President William Lai (賴清德) on Sunday pledged to seek a zero-tariff regime with the US, and said that Taipei would not retaliate in response to the tariffs.
Taiwan's benchmark stock index today followed global markets higher in response to the tariff reprieve, opening up more than 9%, having plummeted the previous three trading sessions.
Taiwan stocks surged by more than 1,600 points this morning, recording their biggest-ever intraday gain, after Trump announced a 90-day pause on his steep "reciprocal" tariffs on most countries.
The Taiex index jumped 1,615.09 points to 19,006.85 at 9:05am as three heavyweight stocks — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Hon Hai (Foxconn) and MediaTek — hit their limit-up prices at NT$863 (US$26.28), NT$123.50 and NT$1,300, respectively.
TSMC's American depositary receipts (ADRs) also rose by 12.29 percent overnight.
In Taipei, TSMC shares skyrocketed to NT$863 today on the news of the tariff suspension. The rise added NT$2.02 trillion to the company's share value, which rebounded to NT$22.37 trillion, contributing about 628 points to the entire market.
However, speaking at a separate parliamentary committee session, Taiwan central bank governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said that there remained a great amount of uncertainty for the stock market about Trump's tariffs.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS