The Executive Yuan said today that thisthe new US tariff rate is highly
unreasonable and does not accurately reflect the Taiwan-U.S. trade situation.

The government expressed deep regret, and Premier Cho Jung-tai has instructed
officials to engage in serious negotiations with the U.S.



According to the Trump Administration, the U.S. levies tariffs at
approximately half the rate of the tariffs imposed by other countries on
American goods.

Since Taiwan imposes a 64% tariff on U.S. goods, the U.S., in turn, imposes a
32% tariff on Taiwanese goods.

According to Trump's presentation, these tariff calculations also take into
account currency manipulation and trade barriers.

But the Cabinet spokesperson Li Hui-zhi said this calculation is unfair as it
fails to reflect the highly complementary nature of Taiwan-U.S. trade
relations.

She also pointed out that

Taiwan’s export growth and trade surplus with
the U.S. in recent years are primarily driven by soaring U.S. demand for
semiconductors and AI-related products, which underscores Taiwan’s
significant contributions to both the U.S. economy and national security.

Meanwhile the oppostion KMT is urging the Lai Administration to explain what
the government's response would be as the hefty tariffs are bound to have a
huge impact on Taiwan's mostly small and medium-sized businesses.