No US stopover for Taiwanese leader could make room for Xi-Trump meeting this year
William Lai Ching-te has no immediate plans for overseas travel, his office said on Monday, following reports that his proposed stopover in the United States was declined by the
Donald Trump administration.
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Citing people familiar with the decision, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Washington told Lai he could not stop in New York on the way to South America, where he was earlier reported to be planning to visit Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize.
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All 24 opposition Kuomintang lawmakers in Taiwan survive mass recall campaign
All 24 opposition Kuomintang lawmakers in Taiwan survive mass recall campaign
The decision is expected to remove significant obstacles to a
potential leaders' meeting between Beijing and Washington.
Taiwanese Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo attributed the decision not to travel to the ongoing rehabilitation efforts in southern Taiwan following a recent typhoon, regional developments, and the United States' tariffs.
The South China Morning Post reported earlier this month that Lai was planning a US 'stopover' in August that could take him to New York and Texas en route to South America, a move that was bound to anger Beijing.
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Lai's Democratic Progressive Party suffered a setback over the weekend, when it failed to unseat 24 lawmakers from the main opposition Kuomintang in recall votes.
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South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Do not equate William Lai and the DPP with Taiwan democracy
Like most people everywhere, Taiwanese worry about jobs, their livelihoods and, if they run a business, the direction of the economy. So Donald Trump's universal tariff war may be of some concern or at least interest to most of them. That's because it's been clear for some time that the US president doesn't distinguish between friend and foe when it comes to imposing duties on your exports to his country. In fact, if you are a traditional American ally or friend, he is likely to be even harsher because it makes you an easy mark for bullying. And so the island's leader William Lai Ching-te 'temporarily breathed a sigh of relief after learning that its exports to the United States will face a 20 per cent tariff – lower than the initially feared 32 per cent.' Well done, what an achievement! Even the much-despised European Union gets 15 per cent tariffs. And Taiwan is supposed to be the global hub of democracy where America is ready to spill its own blood to defend? No wonder Lai gets such dismal approval ratings The problem is that only now, at the last minute, Lai and his independence-seeking Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) make negotiating trade terms with Washington top of the island's news agenda. Before, while every other major government around the world was prioritising trade negotiations to minimise the economic damage coming from Washington, Lai was busy touring the island to warn against mainland China's existential threat. He has declared the mainland 'a foreign hostile force', showed off heavy American weapons like Abrams tanks, promoted urban warfare drills, and rewrote the history of the Republic of China (the island's official name) to deny its historical roots in the mainland. Then came la piece de resistance: the mass recall vote against opposition lawmakers. Through a quirk of the electoral system, you could recall legislators and run by-elections to replace them if there are enough voters to support the effort.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Taiwan's William Lai vows to bargain with US as 20% tariff rate draws flak
Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te has vowed to push for a lower US tariff rate as criticism mounts over his administration's failure to secure a more favourable deal. Lai's pledge on Friday came after President Donald Trump imposed what Taipei described as a 'temporary' 20 per cent levy on Taiwanese exports to the United States. 'The 20 per cent tariff rate was never Taiwan's target to begin with. We hope in follow-up talks we are able to strive for a rate that's more favourable and reasonable for Taiwan,' Lai said at a press conference in Taipei. Trump imposed tariffs ranging from 10 to 41 per cent on imports from dozens of US trading partners in an executive order issued on Thursday. 01:15 Canada, Brazil hardest hit as Trump unleashes new global tariff blitz Canada, Brazil hardest hit as Trump unleashes new global tariff blitz While Taiwan's 20 per cent rate is lower than the 32 per cent he announced in April, it exceeds the 15 per cent rates fellow Asian economies Japan and South Korea ultimately secured – and falls short of earlier expectations from the Lai administration. Lai framed the rate as a 'phased outcome' of ongoing negotiations,saying: 'The US government has also expressed its willingness to proceed with further talks with Taiwan.'
HKFP
3 days ago
- HKFP
Taiwan vows to seek lower tariff after Trump's ‘temporary' 20% levy
Taiwan vowed on Friday to seek a lower tariff after Donald Trump imposed a 'temporary' 20 percent levy on its shipments to the United States as part of his trade war. The US president's announcement was part of a sweep of measures — reaching 41 percent — against dozens of global partners as they scrambled for deals with Washington to avert the painful tolls. The figure is down from the 32 percent toll imposed in his April 2 'Liberation Day', since when Taipei and Washington have held four rounds of face-to-face talks and multiple video conferences to resolve the issue. On Friday Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Facebook they were still working to strike an agreement 'The US has announced a temporary 20 percent tariff for Taiwan, with the possibility of further reductions should an agreement be reached,' he wrote. 'The government will continue to strive for a reasonable tariff rate and complete the final stages of the tariff negotiations.' While Trump had set Friday as the deadline for agreements to be made, he delayed it until the end of next week. No timeline was given for Taiwan, which could mean the island was caught in the middle of US-China trade negotiations, said Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis. Washington and Beijing held two days of talks this week aimed at reaching a deal to extend a truce in their trade war and prevent the reimposition of sky-high tariffs on August 12. 'The conditions on Taiwan might be relevant for China, imagine export controls,' Garcia-Herrero told AFP. After US tech giant Nvidia announced it will resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China, Garcia-Herrero said 'there could be other stuff that China needs from Taiwan that the US can offer'. 'This is the ceiling' Taiwan is a global powerhouse in chip manufacturing, with more than half the world's semiconductors and nearly all of the high-end ones made there. The owner of a Taiwanese machinery exporter to the United States said he was worried that lower tariff rates on Japan and South Korea — 15 percent — would advantage his competitors there. He told AFP the recent appreciation in the Taiwan dollar against the greenback had also 'put a lot of pressure on us, creating a double whammy'. The uncertainty over tariffs was hurting US sales, said textile producer Eddie Wang, with clients 'feeling overwhelmed' and reluctant to place orders. Soaring demand for AI-related technology has fuelled Taiwan's trade surplus with the United States — and put it in Trump's crosshairs. Around 60 percent of Taiwan's exports to the United States are information and communications technology, which includes chips. In a bid to avoid the tariffs, Taipei has pledged to increase investment in the United States, buy more of its energy and increase its own defence spending. Economist Sun Ming-te said the 20 percent levy was 'probably the best outcome Taiwan can achieve with the US under the current conditions.' 'This is the ceiling, and it can go lower in the future,' Sun, from the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, told AFP.
