Taipei will help Taiwanese companies leave China to avoid Trump’s high tariffs

TAIPEI. Taipei will help Taiwanese companies move their manufacturing facilities to China if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose a 60 percent tariff on Chinese-made goods, the island’s economy ministry said on November 7.

Trump’s victory in the US presidential election has world leaders, business owners and stock markets grappling with the potential impact of his return to the White House.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised to get tougher on China, promising set 60 percent tariffs on all Chinese goods entering the United States.

“We will soon offer some assistance to our Taiwanese businessmen on how to relocate their manufacturing bases so that they are not subject to the 60 percent tariff,” Taiwan’s Economy Minister Kuo Zhihui told a parliamentary committee.

Mr Kuo did not provide further details on the measures.

Many Taiwanese companies have set up factories in China during the country’s economic opening over the past four decades, but investment has fallen sharply in recent years due to regional technology disputes.

Between 2019 and 2021, when Beijing and Washington are in a trade war, Taipei has offered Taiwanese businesses in China incentives to return to the island.

Among them are two years of free rent of industrial zones of the Ministry of Economy, labor subsidies and cheaper loans.

Trump has called “tariff” the most beautiful word in the dictionary, and his second term as president promises sweeping measures on all US$3 trillion (S$4 trillion) worth of US imports.

He promised at least a 10 percent tariff on all imports and a higher level of 60 percent or more on Chinese goods.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on November 7 to Beijing and Washington need to find a way to “get along” in an address to Trump, state media reported.

“A stable, healthy and sustainable Sino-US relationship is in the common interests of both countries and meets the expectations of the international community,” Mr. Xi said. AFP