By Reuters December 1, 2025, 10:48:15 AM IST (Published)
Taiwan is pushing for tariffs on its exports to the United States to be cut to 15% from the current 20%, senior Taiwan officials said on Monday, December 1, while saying that U.S. worker training was not a condition in their trade talks.
A major semiconductor producer, Taiwan has promoted what it calls the “Taiwan model” in talks with the United States — an approach to replicate the island’s success in building tech clusters around dedicated science parks.
Responding to questions in parliament, Taiwan’s top trade negotiator Jenni Yang said the aim was to reduce the rate to 15%. Last week Reuters reported the Trump administration was negotiating a deal that could commit Taiwan to fresh investment and to training U.S. workers in chipmaking and other advanced industries, though sources said details might change before a final agreement.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is investing $165 billion in the United States to build factories in Arizona. Taiwan Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin said that if TSMC needed government help training its U.S. workforce, that could be discussed, but he emphasized training was not among Taiwan’s negotiating conditions.
Neither Kung nor Yang gave an exact timeframe for a pact, though Yang said the government would work to complete it before the end of this year. Taiwan’s semiconductor exports are not subject to the U.S. tariffs of 20%.
In August, President Trump said U.S. semiconductor imports would face a tariff of about 100% but exempted companies manufacturing in the United States or committing to do so. Such companies include TSMC, though U.S. officials have privately indicated they might not levy the tariffs soon, Reuters reported.
