Deal or no deal with US? Taiwan avoids tariffs so far, but remains on edge

When a 90-day tariff-free grace period expired this month, Taiwan escaped letters US President Donald Trump to two dozen other governments fixing new rates, including a 25 per cent duty

on goods from Japan and South Korea.

Is Taiwan’s letter still in the mail?

The Trump administration announced worldwide tariffs on April 2, including double-digit rates for a list of exporters in Asia and 32 per cent slated for Taiwan. The US later paused most tariffs, including Taiwan’s, for 90 days to negotiate the tariff rates with major trading partners.

Taiwanese and US officials have met three times since April, including for a round of talks this month, suggesting that both sides are trying to work something out, the analysts said.

Like Japan and South Korea, fellow Asian exporter Taiwan has a substantial trade surplus with the US – the reason behind Trump’s push for higher tariffs.

However, analysts said this week that the absence of a Taiwan letter so far means the two sides are still negotiating toward keeping new US tariffs at a manageable level for Taiwan, which supplies advanced semiconductors for a who’s who of American tech firms.