TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan received partial relief from U.S. trade tensions on Thursday (April 10) as President Donald Trump (川普) announced a 90-day suspension of the planned 32% tariff on Taiwanese imports, though a baseline 10% duty will remain in effect. Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who took office last year, quickly responded with a Facebook post outlining four specific measures designed to strengthen bilateral economic ties amid the trade uncertainty.
The Taiwanese leader expanded on his economic strategy in a recently published Bloomberg (彭博社) opinion piece, where he detailed a comprehensive four-point plan to navigate the new trade landscape. Lai's proposal includes ambitious bilateral tariff reductions, expanded procurement of American goods and services, accelerated Taiwanese investment across multiple U.S. states, and a concerted effort to dismantle non-tariff barriers that currently impede trade flows between the two economies.
In his message to both domestic and international audiences, President Lai framed the current trade tensions as a potential catalyst for deeper economic integration between Taiwan and the United States. He specifically highlighted the growing regional instability caused by China's increasingly assertive behavior in the Indo-Pacific. The Taiwanese president emphasized that strengthened commercial partnerships would not only bolster economic resilience but also reinforce the security framework vital to maintaining what he described as "a free and open Indo-Pacific region."
