TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) announced on Friday (April 11) that the island democracy has secured a position on the United States' initial tariff negotiation list. During his address, Lai emphasized his administration's preparedness to engage in substantive discussions with American counterparts to defend Taiwan's economic sovereignty and ensure continued growth across its vital industrial sectors.
Speaking at an economic forum attended by key machinery industry stakeholders, President Lai unveiled Taiwan's ambitious negotiation strategy, which seeks to begin from a zero-tariff baseline. The Taiwanese leader expressed his government's intention to follow the framework established by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Lai noted that Taiwan's Executive Yuan, the island's cabinet, had already conducted thorough reviews of procurement strategies across multiple sectors including energy, industrial manufacturing, and agricultural products during the previous two months.
Lai elaborated on Taiwan's three-pronged approach to U.S. negotiations, prioritizing tariff reductions while simultaneously addressing less visible trade barriers. The president emphasized Taiwan's commitment to expanding investments in American markets as a means to enhance its own industrial competitiveness. He specifically addressed the contentious issue of product origin labeling, a requirement Washington has imposed on numerous trading partners. With evident satisfaction, Lai reported that Taiwan's preliminary proposals had already garnered encouraging responses from U.S. officials.
Lai called for unprecedented political solidarity across Taiwan's often fractious party lines as the island navigates these critical trade negotiations. The president insisted that Taiwan's economic modernization agenda must proceed uninterrupted, even when confronting natural disasters such as typhoons that regularly affect the region. He highlighted a significant recent development: Taiwan's export tariffs to American markets had already decreased substantially from 32% to 10% following Washington's decision to reduce duties for 75 countries to a uniform 10% rate just one day prior. ★