Taiwan President Lai Ching-te met with top technology industry executives on Saturday to strategize responses to newly announced U.S. import tariffs, pledging full support to maintain Taiwan’s global economic edge and protect national interests.
The meeting followed President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement on Wednesday, which imposed significantly higher import duties on dozens of trade partners—including Taiwan, which now faces a 32% duty on various products due to its substantial trade surplus with the U.S.
Semiconductors, a key Taiwanese export, are exempt from the tariffs.
According to presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo, President Lai convened the gathering at his official residence to address “the global economic and trade challenges brought about by the reciprocal tariff policy.” While specific companies were not named in the official statement, Kuo confirmed the presence of representatives from Taiwan’s critical information and communications technology sector.
“President Lai aims to provide maximum support to industry, stabilize the economic situation, ensure Taiwan’s global competitiveness, and safeguard national interests and the steady progress of our economy,” Kuo said.
Local media reports identified some of the high-profile attendees as TSMC Deputy Co-COO Cliff Hou—also chairman of the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association—and Young Liu, chairman of Apple supplier Foxconn. Neither company responded immediately to requests for comment, with TSMC currently in a pre-earnings quiet period ahead of its April 17 financial release.
On Friday, Taiwan’s government announced an NT$88 billion (US$2.67 billion) support package to help local industries mitigate the impact of the new U.S. tariffs. While Taiwan has called the tariffs “unreasonable,” it has stopped short of announcing any retaliatory measures and plans to engage in talks with the U.S. over the issue.
