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Taiwan Officials Head to Washington for Tariff Talks
Visit Aims to Revive Long-Stalled Deal on Trade and Investment
Key Takeaways:
- Taiwan’s vice premier and trade representative are heading to Washington Jan. 14 or 15 to revive talks on cutting U.S. tariffs, people familiar said.
- The draft pact would lower duties to 15% from 20% and see TSMC add at least four Arizona chip plants, matching terms won by Japan and South Korea.
- Outcome and timing remain uncertain amid possible Supreme Court limits on Trump’s tariffs and sensitivities with China before an expected April Trump-Xi meeting.
Top Taiwanese officials are traveling to Washington to advance a long-stalled agreement to lower U.S. tariffs on the self-governing island’s exports and boost investment in America, according to people familiar with the matter.Ìý
Taiwan’s vice premier Cheng Li-chiun and trade representative Yang Jen-ni are expected to arrive late Jan. 14 or early Jan. 15, with plans to meet in the coming days with representatives from President Donald Trump’s administration, said the people who requested anonymity to discuss the previously undisclosed visit.
It’s unclear which U.S. officials will participate in the meetings and whether Trump plans to become personally involved, the people said. Whether a deal will be finalized during the visit also remains uncertain.Ìý
The White House, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. Commerce Department and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.Ìý
Still, the trip marks the latest signal that months of negotiations between Washington and Taipei are entering their final stages.
RELATED:ÌýWait Continues as Supreme Court Doesn’t Rule on Tariffs
Under the terms of the emerging pact, duties on Taiwanese imports would fall to 15% from the current level of 20%, according to a person familiar with the parameters. That rate would put goods from Taiwan on par with those from Japan and South Korea, which reached agreements with Trump last year.Ìý
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in turn would significantly expand planned investments in chip production on U.S. soil, people familiar with the matter said. The world’s top producer of advanced chips used in artificial intelligence would pledge to build at least four more chip manufacturing plants in Arizona, adding to the six factories and two advanced packaging facilities it has already promised to open there, one of the people said.Ìý
A signed pact would represent a significant victory for Taipei, which has been pushing to conclude an agreement before Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to a senior official in the Taiwanese capital. That sit-down is expected to take place in April.
Trump would gain another investment pledge from a key overseas manufacturer, which he could tout as another win for his trade policy. TSMC has come under increasing attention in Washington because Taiwan faces the threat of military aggression from China. Yet it’s unclear how quickly the company could honor its manufacturing commitments.Ìý
Consummating a deal with Taipei may also require the Trump administration to carry out delicate diplomacy with China; any agreement with Taiwan risks provoking Beijing, which claims the island as its territory — a view Taiwan rejects.
Also hanging over the talks is the Supreme Court’s impending decision in the case involving Trump’s global tariffs. If the justices uphold lower courts’ rulings that the duties violate the law, it could hamper the president’s ability to unilaterally set levies on Taiwanese goods.Ìý
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