TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taiwan-US trade talks on tariffs proceeded slowly due to the China factor and the absence of direct contacts with US President Donald Trump, the head of a top economic think tank said Friday.

Taiwan and the US announced Friday morning that the Trump administration decided on a 20% tariff for imports from Taiwan. While the level was lower than the 32% mentioned months ago, it was higher than the 15% announced for Japan and South Korea.

The government said Friday that bilateral talks were continuing, and that the 20% level was “provisional” until a new agreement was reached. The negotiation process was slow but did not necessarily produce negative results, said Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research President Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明).

He said that the Trump administration has been more focused on reaching a deal with China, per CNA. The US wanted to avoid the issue of Taiwan entering its talks with Beijing, he added.

The second reason for the slow progress of the talks, according to Lien, was the absence of direct contacts between the Taiwan delegation and the US president due to diplomatic considerations. Other countries could discuss the tariffs directly with Trump, but Taiwan-US talks were further removed from contact with the US president.

Lien said that despite taking more time, the final tariff deal may not necessarily be bad for Taiwan. He called for patience, noting that the 20% tariff was only scheduled to take effect on Aug. 7, leaving time for more discussions and a new rate.