Taiwan Steelmakers React Positively to Trump's 25% Tariff

TaiwanPlus News

Taiwan's industries association for steel and iron expects U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariff on all steel imports to put Taiwan on equal footing with its global competitors. Taiwan ranks in the top ten importers of steel to the U.S. and has faced a 25% tariff on its products since 2018.  Meanwhile, concerns still loom over the U.S. president's pledge to tariff Taiwanese semiconductors.

Transcript

00:00World leaders are stepping up to the plate in what could turn into a multi-front trade war with the U.S.,

00:07condemning U.S. President Donald Trump's 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports

00:14that will take effect next month.

00:22The U.S.'s largest foreign supplier of both metals, Canada,

00:26faces a stacked levy with other taxes on the country's goods,

00:30potentially amounting to a total 50 percent tariff.

00:34Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his country's imports create

00:39quote, thousands if not millions of jobs in the U.S.,

00:43and that Canada will not stand idly by.

00:46We'll be doing more together, not fighting with each other,

00:50but Canadians will stand up strongly and firmly if we need to.

00:54Taiwan has also been caught in the crosshairs of Trump's metals levy,

00:59ranking in the top ten of the U.S.'s steel importers.

01:03But Taiwan has reacted differently to the tariff.

01:06The U.S. has imposed a 25 percent levy on Taiwan-made steel since 2018.

01:12According to Taiwan's Trade Association for Steel and Iron,

01:16Trump's latest levy on all steel imports actually puts Taiwan

01:21on equal footing with other countries, describing it as a positive thing.

01:26The economy ministry has also said that due to recent competition

01:31with low-priced Chinese-made steel,

01:33Taiwan has turned to high-value specialized products,

01:37and so Trump's tariff does not change its competition with other countries.

01:45In Taiwan, more focus has been on Trump's pledge

01:48to impose higher tariffs on its semiconductors, the most advanced in the world.

01:54At a Paris AI Summit, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance reiterated Trump's vision

02:00to bring high-end chips manufacturing to American soil.

02:04And to safeguard America's advantage, the Trump administration will ensure

02:08that the most powerful AI systems are built in the U.S.

02:12with American-designed and manufactured chips.

02:16Economists in both the U.S. and Taiwan have warned that taxing Taiwan-made chips,

02:22particularly TSMC's unmatched advanced nodes, would backfire on the U.S.

02:28From Taiwan's point of view is that even if they levy chips on Taiwan,

02:33of course it's going to hurt, but it's not hurt that much.

02:36It's that you think about the TSMC, they're making the best chips,

02:40and so their bargaining power is unaffected by this.

02:43Trump is playing the game with countries to say,

02:46I can do this, I can do that, you know, be careful.

02:48So that intimidation, I think it does work.

02:51So countries like Taiwan, we would certainly talk and then try to,

02:56you know, hope that the U.S. won't do that much.

02:59Despite making the lion's share of the world's most advanced chips,

03:03Taiwan will still look to stay on Trump's good side,

03:07as the country relies on U.S.-made weapons to defend against China's threat to annex it,

03:13all high-stake elements in Taiwan's critical relationship with the U.S.

03:18Howa Zhang and Joyce Sun for Taiwan Plus.

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