TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan has sent officials to Washington to discuss possible U.S. tariffs by President Donald Trump, and has made preparations should they be imposed, Economy Minister Kuo Jyh-huei said on Saturday.
Tech firms in Taiwan, home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker TSMC (NYSE:TSM), face the possibility Trump will follow through on threats to put tariffs on imported chips after he accusing Taiwan during last year’s campaign of having stolen American semiconductor business.
Trump said on Friday he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on many economies by Monday or Tuesday, a major escalation of his offensive to reshape global trade relationships in ways he considers to be in America’s favour.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Kuo said the ministry has made preparations for any U.S. tariffs, declining to give details.
Asked about chip tariffs, Kuo said he had dispatched a deputy minister and a deputy section chief to Washington. He did not identify them or offer further details.
They will "as much as possible give some rather good explanations to Trump’s people" about Taiwan’s chip industry, he added, without elaborating. "Taiwan is the United States’ best partner."
Taiwan has repeatedly said its chip sector and U.S. companies have "win-win" cooperation.
But Taiwan runs a large trade surplus with the United States, which surged 83% last year, with the island’s exports to the U.S. hitting a record $111.4 billion, driven by demand for high-tech products such as semiconductors.
Kuo suggested Taiwan could follow Japan’s example and import more U.S. energy.
"In reference to Japan, he has great determination when it comes to energy," he said, referring to Trump. "We hope we can satisfy U.S. demands when it comes to this."
Japan will soon begin importing a record amount of U.S. liquefied natural gas, Trump said on Friday after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Australia and Qatar are currently Taiwan’s main suppliers of LNG.