Author: Trevor Hunnicutt and Dagmara Marcos
WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Top Taiwanese officials are traveling to Washington to advance talks on lowering U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese exports and a possible investment deal, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Sources told Reuters that Taiwan’s Deputy Prime Minister Cheng Li-qun and trade envoy Jenny Yang are expected to arrive in Washington on Thursday to meet with Trump administration officials.
Two people familiar with the matter said an announcement could be made by the end of the month.
The Taiwan government said in December last year that it aimed to reduce export tariffs to the United States from 20% to 15%.
Taipei said on Tuesday it had reached “broad consensus” with Washington on the talks and was discussing a timetable for concluding them. It did not comment on the meeting in Washington.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the Washington meeting, which was first reported by Bloomberg News. It is unclear which U.S. officials will attend.
Taiwan, a major semiconductor producer, said its offer to the United States includes helping replicate Taiwan’s success in building technology clusters around specialized science parks.
Under the deal, chipmaker TSMC is expected to commit to building more factories in Arizona, a person familiar with the matter said.
TSMC declined to comment on whether it would increase its investment in the United States on top of the $165 billion it has already committed.
Taiwanese chips are not affected by U.S. tariffs.
China regards democratically governed Taiwan as its own, and Beijing has never given up the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Taiwan denies Beijing’s claims.
The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but Washington is Taiwan’s most important international supporter and is legally required to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. This issue has been a thorny issue in U.S.-China relations for years.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Dagmarah Mackos; Editing by Alexander Smith and Alistair Bell)