Taipei [Taiwan], July 9 : Taiwan is hoping to avoid steep US import tariffs as it continues negotiations with the Trump administration, even as President Donald Trump announced high duties on 14 other countries. The island nation was excluded from the first batch of tariff targets and is still hoping to reach a deal with the Trump administration in the ongoing tariff talks, as reported by Focus Taiwan.
A source familiar with the situation said that the 14 countries on the list were there because the United States felt trade negotiations with them had not made progress, were not successful, or were not worth continuing, Focus Taiwan reported.
Taiwan was threatened by the US that it would face tariffs of between 25 per cent and 40 per cent if they don't reach an agreement before that. However, the country is still in conversation with the Trump administration over tariffs negotiations, and the US side has repeatedly said the negotiations were making progress, according to the source quoted by Focus Taiwan.
European Union is also in a similar position as it was also excluded from the list of countries on whom US has imposed high tariffs of between 25 per cent to 40 per cent, Focus Taiwan reported.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee said in a statement that Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun was in Washington in talks on the tariffs, but no further details were provided.
Among the 14 countries on which U.S has announced high tariffs includes, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia who are facing tariffs of 25 per cent, similar to the initial "reciprocal" tariffs the Trump administration announced on April 2 before saying there would be a 90-day pause on April 9.
With the end of the 90-day pause ending today, July 9, Trump said he would send letters to countries that struck deals with the U.S. to inform them of the tariffs they will face.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor