TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan confronted a 20 percent tariff imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump Thursday (Aug. 7) at noon, prompting sharp political criticism from opposition leaders. Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) criticized the government and President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) for downplaying the tariff as temporary and questioned the administration's governance priorities. The tariff implementation marks a significant escalation in U.S.-Taiwan trade tensions that could reshape the island's economic landscape.
The Legislative Yuan (立法院), Taiwan's parliament, recently passed a special act to strengthen Taiwan's economic, social and homeland security resilience in response to international dynamics, which President Lai subsequently enacted. The Executive Yuan (行政院), Taiwan's cabinet, unexpectedly removed the budget plan for this act from Thursday morning's meeting agenda, citing necessary adjustments to industry support plans. Huang expressed deep skepticism about the government's controversial decision to exclude critical tariff-related budget discussions from the emergency session.
Huang urgently called on the government to address the tariff's devastating impact on Taiwan's industries and workers with immediate concrete action. The opposition chairman harshly criticized the Executive Yuan for frequently changing its meeting agenda, arguing that such inconsistency creates dangerous operational chaos within Taiwan's government structure. This political gridlock comes at a critical moment when Taiwan needs decisive leadership to navigate the escalating trade dispute with its most important security partner. ◼
