TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan reportedly approached the US to discuss tariffs last week, hoping for an agreement to resolve issues. 

At the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said the government would not retaliate against the Trump administration’s 32% tariff on Taiwanese imports, per CNA. Tsai said the government would find specific solutions, adding that President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) instructed officials to initiate strategic communication between the two sides. 

“Last weekend, we used channels to talk to the US to reflect our position on Taiwan-US tariff negotiations and some of our proposals,” Tsai told reporters. “We hope that once the US agrees that Taiwan and the US can have a related negotiation process, the two sides can quickly come to an agreement.”

Tsai said that Lai called several meetings to discuss Taiwan’s response to the tariffs. On Monday, the government released five strategies to sustain Taiwan's economic growth. 

These included reducing the US trade deficit with Taiwan and seeking a more preferable import duty from the US through negotiations, including a “zero-for-zero” tariff approach in line with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Tsai said that countries have reacted differently to the tariffs. He pointed out that China, the European Union, and Canada have already announced retaliatory measures. He said most countries hope to start tariff consultations with the US, while others are still evaluating their options. 

Tsai said the National Security Bureau would pay attention to a possible tariff war, a wave of protectionism, and bilateral or multilateral free trade agreement (FTA) initiatives taking shape. 

On Tuesday evening, Taiwan activated its NT$500 billion (US$15.16 billion) stock stabilization fund to stabilize the market after it dropped significantly over two trading days.