Taipei, April 10 (CNA) Taiwan is among the countries listed by U.S. President Donald Trump for a 90-day pause of his “reciprocal” tariffs, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said Thursday.
The United States’ baseline tariff of 10 percent on Taiwan goods, which was implemented on April 9, will remain in place, but the additional 22 percent tariff has been suspended for 90 days, Lin indicated during a legislative hearing on the issue.
During the hearing, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) asked whether the 75-plus countries that had proposed talks with the U.S. instead of taking retaliatory actions had all been listed for the 90-day pause.
In response, Lin said he had confirmed with the U.S. that Taiwan was on the list but he was not sure about the other countries.
“The temporary baseline 10 percent tariff is now giving Taiwan a relative advantage point [pending further talks],” Lin said.
On April 2, Trump announced a universal baseline tariff of 10 percent on all imports to the U.S. and higher rates on trading partners the White House deemed the “worst offenders” in “unfair trade practices,” including Taiwan.
In anticipation of the 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, which took effect briefly on April 9, the Taiwan government had been preparing for expected huge economic consequences.
In a dramatic turn on Wednesday (U.S. time), however, Trump said he was pausing the “reciprocal” tariffs on the targeted countries for 90 days, except for China, which will be subject to a 125 percent tariff.
As of press time, the U.S. government had not released a list of the countries included in the tariff suspension plan.
According to Trump, more than 75 countries had contacted the U.S. to start negotiations on the reciprocal tariffs. The White House said Wednesday that the 90-day pause would allow the U.S. to create a “bespoke” solution for all of those countries.
Prior to Thursday’s legislative session in Taipei, Lin told reporters that Taiwan was prepared to engage in talks with the U.S. on the tariff issue.
Trump’s latest announcement of a 90-day pause would give both sides more time to prepare for a “deeper, more thorough” bilateral negotiations on the issue, he said.
On Wednesday, Lin said that Taipei was in contact with the U.S., which has “officially acknowledged our outreach.”
“Taiwan has been included on the list for upcoming trade talks,” he said, without elaborating.
Lin did not provide a timeline for the negotiations but said that the two sides had been exchanging information, with the U.S. requesting additional data from Taiwan, which the government was in the process of providing.
