Taiwan pledges more US investment, aims to remove trade barriers after Trump tariffs

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Sunday said that Taiwan will not retaliate with reciprocal tariffs against the US but will work on removing trade barriers. He added that Taiwanese companies will continue to increase investments in the US following President Donald Trump‘s announcement of sweeping import tariffs last week, including a 32% duty on Taiwanese goods, Reuters reported.

Taiwan, which maintains a significant trade surplus with the US, was among several countries affected. However, semiconductors – one of Taiwan’s key exports – are exempt from the new tariffs.

Addressing business leaders from small and medium enterprises at his residence, Lai acknowledged that Taiwan’s economy could face difficulties due to its trade reliance but remained optimistic about reducing the impact.

“In the face of the U.S. ‘reciprocal tariffs‘, Taiwan has no plans to take tariff retaliation, and there will be no change in the investment commitments of enterprises to the United States as long as they are in the national interest,” he said, as per a statement from his office, quoted by Reuters

He added that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s top contract chipmaker, recently announced a new $100 billion investment in the US.

“In the future, in addition to TSMC’s increased investment, other industries, such as electronics, information and communications, petrochemicals, and natural gas will be able to increase investment in the U.S. and deepen Taiwan-U.S. industrial cooperation,” he said.

He further said that Taiwan would address long-standing non-tariff trade barriers, which the US sees as a benchmark for fair trade.

“Non-tariff trade barriers are an indicator for the U.S. to assess the fairness of trade, and Taiwan will proactively resolve non-tariff trade barriers that have existed for many years to make trade negotiations with the U.S. smoother,” Lai added.

Taiwan curbs short-selling amid tariff worries

Taiwan’s financial regulator has introduced stricter short-selling rules in response to market volatility triggered by Donald Trump’s newly announced tariffs, Bloomberg reported.

According to a statement issued on Sunday, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said the updated measures will take effect from April 7 to April 11. Under the new rules, intraday securities lending orders will be capped at 3% of the average daily trading volume over the past 30 days — a significant cut from the previous limit of 30%.

Additionally, the minimum margin requirement for short-selling will be increased from 90% to 130%.

“The US’s recent announcement on reciprocal tariffs has caused a sharp shock in the global stock markets, and Taiwan’s market had not yet reacted given it was shut for holidays,” the FSC said in the statement. “Global markets are still digesting the information, which will surely bring significant uncertainties to Taiwan’s market.”

The commission said it would keep a close watch on the situation and take additional stabilisation measures if required.

Similar restrictions on short-selling were introduced by the FSC in September 2022, during a period of global market volatility triggered by worries over the US Federal Reserve’s steep rate hikes and recession fears.

(With Reuters, Bloomberg inputs)