U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that Taiwan had taken semiconductor chip business away from the United States and threatened to impose tariffs on wafer exports. He also announced plans for reciprocal tariffs on any country taxing U.S. imports, heightening the risk of a global trade war.
Vice President of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) Wang Jiann-Chyuan (王健全), noted that Taiwan’s tariff rates are relatively low compared to South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and India. About 65% of Taiwan’s exports are information and communications technology (ICT) products, which benefit from existing international agreements that keep tariffs at zero or minimal levels. However, traditional industries such as automobiles, steel, and agriculture—as well as semiconductors, which Trump specifically mentioned—could face significant repercussions if U.S. tariffs rise.
Director-General of the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) Dr. Darson Chiu (邱達生) suggested that negotiating tariff reductions with the U.S. could be advantageous for Taiwan. Lowering tariffs to zero, akin to a free trade agreement, would at this point be easier to achieve domestic consensus around given pressure from Trump.
However, Chiu cautioned that Taiwan’s average agricultural tariff stands at 16.6%. While agriculture is not a key driver of Taiwan’s trade, lower tariffs could heavily impact farmers, a crucial voting bloc. How the government manages these concerns will be critical.