Taiwan says Trump tariff pause gives breathing room for more detailed talks

TAIPEI: U.S. President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on most tariffs gives breathing space for more in-depth talks, and Taiwan hopes to take advantage of the “huge” U.S. market for more balanced trade, the island’s foreign minister said on Thursday.

In a stunning reversal, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would temporarily lower the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries while further ramping up pressure on China, pushing global stocks higher.

Taiwan had been due to be hit with a 32% tariff, sending its stock market plummeting, though the key semiconductor industry was excluded.

Speaking to reporters at parliament, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said the government was dedicated to increasing its purchases from and investments in the United States and to reduce the island’s trade surplus with its most important international backer.

“Now that we have an additional 90 days, we can discuss Taiwan-U.S. economic and trade cooperation in a more detailed and in-depth manner,” he said.

“We hope to take advantage of the huge U.S. market, their excellent technology capital and talent, to form a Taiwan-U.S. coalition, a joint fleet approach,” he added.

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The United States has received Taiwan’s trade proposals “and has also responded”, Lin said, without giving details.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Sunday pledged to seek a zero tariff regime with the United States, and said that Taipei would not retaliate in response to the tariffs.

On Thursday, Taiwan’s benchmark stock index followed global markets higher in response to the tariff reprieve, opening up more than 9%, having plummeted the previous three trading sessions.

Taipei-listed shares in TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, as well as those for iPhone maker Foxconn , rebounded close to 10%. Both are major suppliers to U.S. companies, including Apple and Nvidia.

However, speaking at a separate parliamentary committee session, Taiwan central bank governor Yang Chin-long said that there remained a great amount of uncertainty for the stock market about Trump’s tariffs.

A trade war, and reciprocal tariffs, between the United States and China is not good for the global economy, Yang said.

But Taiwan continues to hold more than 80% of its foreign exchange reserves in U.S. Treasury bonds, he added.

“At present more than 80% is ideal, and we will assess whether to increase it,” Yang said.