TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) appeared before the legislature on Tuesday (Nov. 5) answering questions about the potential impact of the US presidential election on Taiwan.
Cho said the Cabinet cannot predict US election results. He added that regardless of the results, Taiwan-US relations will develop in a healthy and orderly direction, per RTI.
"I think the US is a mature democratic country. While many policies have been put forward in the run-up to the election, they will have to be integrated into a larger strategy that allows the country to move forward in a healthy direction. We still have confidence in this orderly process,” said Cho.
Cho said the Cabinet is prepared to implement appropriate countermeasures should US policy regarding Taiwan change significantly.
National Development Council Chair Liu Jing-qing (劉鏡清) said that if Democratic candidate Kamala Harris wins the election the US is likely to continue current policies regarding Taiwan. If Republican candidate Donald Trump wins the election, higher tariffs could be expected, though Taiwan's IT industry could benefit from stronger technology restrictions placed on China.
Liu said that if Trump takes office, tariffs on countries worldwide will gradually increase by 10%. And if Harris is elected, current tariff policies are not expected to change.
"We can expect tariffs to gradually increase by 10%. However, because many Taiwanese companies are OEMs for US companies, the impact will not be that drastic. The second thing is that (Trump) will impose technical restrictions to protect the interests of the US. Basically, technical restrictions could benefit (Taiwan),” said Liu.
Economics Minister Kuo Jyh-huei (郭智輝) also said that if Harris is elected, she will continue the policies of the current ruling Democratic Party, and this will mean little change for Taiwan. If Trump is elected, there may be some disruption as he has expressed opposition to the CHIPS Act, though the Ministry of Economic Affairs is already prepared with a set of countermeasures, with the potential impact less than what outsiders are predicting.
