TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) ruled out retaliatory measures against the United States on Monday (April 7), charting a conciliatory path forward amid escalating trade tensions between the island democracy and its most crucial security partner. Speaking from the Presidential Office in Taipei, Lai proposed initiating discussions on bilateral "zero tariffs" as an alternative approach to counter the recent 32% tariff imposed by Washington. The president outlined a strategy focused on ensuring Taiwan's economic competitiveness by substantially increasing imports from the United States and implementing a series of collaborative measures designed to foster what he described as "shared prosperity" between the two economies.
President Lai further reiterated his diplomatic stance in English on the social media platform X Monday afternoon, in an apparent effort to communicate directly with American audiences and policymakers. In the carefully worded post, he urged enhanced collaboration with the United States to "usher in a golden age of mutual prosperity" — language that signals Taiwan's continued commitment to its most important international relationship despite the trade dispute. The Harvard-educated leader emphasized that his administration plans to approach negotiations starting from a "zero tariffs" position, while simultaneously expanding purchases of American goods to address the contentious trade deficit that has drawn criticism from Washington. Lai also acknowledged the need to tackle non-tariff trade barriers, a key concern raised by U.S. trade representatives in recent discussions.
"To ensure #Taiwan's competitiveness, we'll increase US imports and adopt other measures. Working together, we'll usher in a golden age of shared prosperity," Lai added in the social media post, employing hashtags and concise messaging tailored for international digital diplomacy. This public statement followed a more comprehensive 8-minute video address released Sunday evening across multiple government platforms, in which the president methodically outlined five specific response strategies to counter U.S. President Donald Trump's recently announced 32% tariff policy targeting Taiwanese exports. The evening address, delivered in Mandarin with English subtitles, represented Lai's first detailed public response to what analysts have described as the most significant economic challenge to face Taiwan since the global financial crisis.
Despite the president's measured proposals, his video address sparked significant and immediate online debate across Taiwan's vibrant social media landscape, amassing thousands of comments and exceeding 2,000 shares within hours of its release. The domestic response revealed a sharply divided public opinion on the administration's approach to the tariff crisis. Supporters of the government praised Lai for what they characterized as pragmatic leadership and clear strategies designed to stabilize the economy and protect vulnerable industries during a period of unprecedented trade uncertainty. However, critics from both business circles and opposition parties questioned what they perceived as the president's lack of concrete actions in the face of an economic emergency, with many voices calling for more definitive and immediate solutions to protect Taiwan's export-dependent economy from what some economists project could be a 3.8% contraction in GDP.