Taiwan’s government announced NT$88 billion ($3.56 billion) in aid on Friday to help local companies cope with the impact of new US tariffs.
This will include NT$70 billion for the manufacturing industry and NT$18 billion for the agricultural industry, Premier Cho Jung-tai said at a briefing. The funds will come from a special budget, which needs to be approved by parliament.
Taiwanese goods like electronics, IT products, steel and auto parts will be significantly impacted by the tariffs, while exports of tea and fish could see reduced consumer demand or become less competitive, the premier added.
President Donald Trump is preparing to impose a 32% tariff on imports from Taiwan as part of so-called reciprocal tariffs announced Wednesday. For now the levies don’t apply to certain semiconductor products, but Trump has indicated that tariffs on those could be coming very soon.
Citigroup said the 32% tariffs are much larger than expected, adding that Taiwan will seek to accelerate talks with the US, focusing on buying more American products and investing in US manufacturing.
