President Lai Ching-te says his administration has no plans to retaliate
against U-S President Donald Trump's 32-per cent tariff on goods from Taiwan.

The statement comes as Lai seeks to ease concerns over the potential economic
fallout from Washington's latest tariffs.

Speaking in a video address, Lai acknowledged the "significant impact" that
the 32-per cent tariff will have on the island's economy, but urged the
public not to panic - citing Taiwan's strong economic fundamentals.

Lai stressed that while 23.4-per cent of Taiwan's exports went to the U-S in
2024, over 75-per cent were shipped to other markets.

According to Lai, along with there being no plans to take retaliatory tariff
action, he believes investments by Taiwan companies in the U-S will also
proceed without any changes, as long as they align with national interests.

Lai said to mitigate the impact of the tariffs, his government has formed a
negotiation team led by Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun to launch formal talks
with the U-S ..

.. and those negotiations can start with a goal of "zero tariffs" - which he
said has been modeled after the "United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement."

The Reuters News Agency says Taiwan's cabinet is also said to be considering
what large-scale agricultural, industrial and energy purchases to make from
the United States, while the defence ministry has already put forward its
weapons purchase plans.;