New Taipei, April 19 (CNA) Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said on Saturday that his office will release details next week on how the Cabinet’s proposed support package can help local businesses cushion themselves against U.S. tariff shocks.
Details about the NT$88 billion (US$2.7 billion) package, including how businesses from industrial, agricultural, and fishery sectors can access the support measures, will be revealed on Monday, Cho said during a meeting with representatives from an industrial park in New Taipei’s Tucheng District.
The Cabinet had planned to release the details earlier this week, but later postponed the announcement, saying more time was needed to revise the plans as Cho and President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) continued discussions with business representatives whose companies will be hit hard by the tariffs pledged by the United States.
According to the Cabinet, the package includes NT$70 billion in funding for measures such as lowering interest rates on loans, helping enterprises diversify their markets, and stabilizing the job market, along with an additional NT$18 billion for financial assistance for the agricultural sector.
The Cabinet said a draft bill for a special budget to fund the planned package is expected to be finalized on April 24 and subsequently sent to the Legislature for approval.
The government’s support package was pledged after U.S. President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal tariffs” on imports from dozens of countries — including a blanket 32 percent levy on most Taiwanese goods — in early April.
Trump later put a 90-day pause on the tariffs and instead imposed reduced 10 percent duties on all countries except China.
Meanwhile, negotiations between officials from Taiwan and the U.S. over the tariffs began on April 11, but neither side has disclosed many details about the discussions.
