Taiwan will not agree to an agreement with the United States that half of semiconductor production will take place in that country. He announced this Wednesday after his return to the country the main tariff negotiator on the island.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said on the weekend of the American tv station News Nation that Washington's proposal for Taiwan assumes a divided half on the production of integrated circuits, most of which are presently produced on the island. Taiwan's Deputy Prime Minister Cheng Li-chiun, who talks about fares with Washington, told reporters on her return to the island that she did not discuss the 50/50 tariff distribution thought proposed by the US during the talks.
"Our negotiating squad has never committed to a 50:50 share of profits on chips. I assure you that we did not discuss this issue during this circular of talks and we would not agree to specified conditions," she said, according to the authoritative Central Information Agency of Taiwan. Neither the U.S. Department of Commerce nor the United States Trade typical Office responded to requests for comment sent outside US office hours.
Taiwan, the office of the world's largest maker of integrated circuits, TSMC, has a major trade surplus with the United States. Exports from the island to the United States are presently under 20% duty.
TSMC, whose business is booming due to its advanced request for solutions in the field artificial intelligence, invests $165 billion in the construction of circuit factories in the U.S. state of Arizona, although most of the production will inactive be located in Taiwan. The Taiwanese government reported last period that it hoped for more favourable tariff rates from the United States after the talks reached "some progress".
Speaking in Parliament in Taipei on Tuesday, Prime Minister Cho Jung-tai said Cheng had many discussions with the United States on tariff issues. "The most crucial substantive consultation is presently underway," he said. As the Central Information Agency, Cheng, added, speaking at the airport, said that there were "detailed" discussions that brought "some progress".
In a separate announcement, the Taiwanese President's office reported on Tuesday evening that president Lai Ching-te met with Luke J. Lindberg, Undersecretary of State for Trade and abroad Affairs in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Lai said that the Taiwanese agricultural delegation, which visited the United States in September, planned to buy US agricultural products worth $10 billion over the next 4 years, including soya, wheat, corn and beef.
