00:00Taiwan's Premier Zhou Rongtai works to reassure the public after the local currency's steep
00:11appreciation adds to the uncertainty of ongoing tariff negotiations with the U.S.
00:17Officials from both countries met in D.C. last week for their first in-person talks,
00:23and the Premier is optimistic.
00:30The U.S. has been negotiating for weeks now with dozens of countries about the tariffs.
00:41U.S. President Donald Trump says there could very well be trade deals to disclose soon,
00:47something he said last week and the week before.
00:50Despite the uncertainty, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is doubling down on the tariffs'
00:56stated goal, to revive American manufacturing.
01:00Tariffs are engineered to encourage companies like yours to invest directly in the United States.
01:06Make your products here. You'll be glad you did.
01:10As officials work on securing a deal, Taiwanese entrepreneurs are putting their heads together
01:15to protect their businesses. At a recent forum in southern Taiwan, executives from a range of
01:22sectors got together to exchange ideas on how to globalize their businesses, a necessary step,
01:28they say, to survive.
01:31I think everybody knows that we are an island type of country, so we have only 20 million people
01:36on the decline still, so there's no way we can go except going abroad.
01:42At the event, hosted by Taiwanese alumni of the University of Michigan, executives shared their
01:47experiences operating in places like Vietnam, Germany and the United States.
01:53Casey Kong helps Taiwanese firms invest in the state of Michigan. He says fears that U.S.
01:59production costs will be higher than Asia are valid, but that this does not mean investments won't pay off.
02:07Certainly they will be winner and loser. Higher costs don't always translate into higher margin,
02:13but in this case, I think if you focus on the U.S. market, maybe the new change might create more
02:22additional opportunity that's not currently in their business plan.
02:26Alan Cheng also assists Taiwanese investors looking to expand in the U.S.
02:31He says entrepreneurs need to fundamentally shift their business approach, emphasizing soft-scale
02:37traits like courage and confidence to get a good deal.
02:41As Taiwanese businesses wait to see what Taipei and Washington officials settle on,
02:58they're also taking matters into their own hands, determined to find ways to diversify,
03:03to survive in an evolving economy.
03:06Kamashu, Joseph Wu and Joyce Sen for Taiwan Plus.
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