US Seeks Chip Worker Training From Taiwan in Trade Talks: Report

TaiwanPlus News

Washington is pushing Taipei to train American workers and help build US industrial clusters for chips in exchange for lower tariffs, according to an exclusive Reuters report.

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00:00U.S. President Donald Trump has a new demand for Taiwan if it wants lower tariffs.

00:05Train American chip workers.

00:07That's according to five sources cited in an exclusive Reuters report, and it comes

00:11as Taiwan negotiates with Washington on a trade deal that would lower its tariff rate

00:16currently at 20 percent.

00:18Washington's demands include sending more workers from Taiwan's chip industry to the

00:22U.S. to expand operations there and train American workers.

00:26The U.S. is also asking for support and know-how to help build industrial clusters similar

00:31to Taiwan's science parks.

00:32It's asking for more capital investment in the U.S., but the total investment the U.S.

00:36is asking for is reportedly less than it's asking from regional rivals like South Korea

00:40and Japan.

00:41Now, neither the White House nor Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations has responded to our

00:46request for comment.

00:48It's unclear what kind of training Washington wants beyond what companies like TSMC are already

00:53doing at their Arizona facilities, or exactly what kind of know-how it's seeking on industrial

00:58clusters.

00:59Also unclear is the timeline, as many factors are in play.

01:02One of those factors is China, a country Trump has been seeking a big trade deal with.

01:07Will Taiwan be part of those negotiations?

01:09Furthermore, the presidential authority Trump has used to levy tariffs is before the Supreme

01:13Court and could be overturned with a decision expected before June.

01:18So while the report does shed some light on what the U.S. wants in a Taiwan trade deal,

01:22it raises as many questions as it answers.

01:25Chris Ma and Chris Gorin in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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