Taiwan Has Chance To Globalize Economy Under Trump: Think Tank

TaiwanPlus News

With Donald Trump taking office again as U.S. president, countries around the world including Taiwan are closely watching to see how he will keep his promise to put the U.S. first, including a pledge to impose sweeping tariffs on all imports.   TaiwanPlus speaks to Lien Hsien-ming, president of leading Taipei-based think tank the Chung-hua Institute for Economic Research (CIER), on what the second Trump presidency means for Taiwan's economy.

Transcript

00:00Countries around the world have been bracing for a second Donald Trump presidency and his

00:09renewed promise to put America first.

00:12That includes a pledge to slap tariffs on all goods coming into the U.S. to address

00:18trade imbalances, particularly with China.

00:22It's a threat that's already caused shipping firms to front-load cargo bound for the world's

00:27largest economy.

00:29And his rhetoric has also raised fears in Taiwan, particularly in its valuable high-tech

00:35sector.

00:36Taiwan, they stole our chip business.

00:39Last year, Taiwan posted a record-high trade surplus with the U.S.

00:44With its unmatched dominance in advanced chips, the booming AI sector has helped drive up

00:49Taiwan's exports to the U.S. by over 80 percent, reaching almost $65 billion.

00:57Despite the anxiety within the sector, and among lawmakers as Trump takes office, both

01:02Taiwan's economy minister and central bank head remain confident that the country won't

01:08be targeted by punitive tariffs.

01:10Our manufacturing is very advanced.

01:15It needs our products.

01:18But according to Lien Hsien-Ming, the head of a leading Taipei-based economy think tank,

01:23this is no guarantee.

01:25Speaking to Taiwan Plus, Lien says Trump may use Taiwan's reliance on U.S.-supplied weapons

01:32to push U.S. interests.

01:34It is true that on the tariff side, Taiwan is probably not on the top list, but you also

01:42have to be a little bit cautious because there are a number of reasons why Taiwan actually

01:48falls into a disadvantaged position.

01:51Taiwan still needs the United States a lot of help.

01:55National defense and also about the international affairs.

01:58Trump is going to use that to have some favors.

02:04Trump has made clear he wants to bring manufacturing and jobs back to American soil, a goal that

02:10Lien says won't necessarily be detrimental to Taiwan.

02:15As an island nation prone to earthquakes and facing a threat of invasion from Beijing,

02:21investing overseas can help Taiwan's economy become more resilient.

02:26Would you also be worried about Taiwan being taken advantage of?

02:29Of course.

02:31But we should use that opportunity to see whether it's possible after all this experience

02:41that we are able to build up a true international company.

02:46Lien says the expansion into Arizona of Taiwanese chip giant TSMC has been a key first step

02:52and case study for other Taiwanese firms looking to do the same.

02:57The company's problems with local labor unions, an important lesson of the cultural challenges

03:03to overcome.

03:05Economic leaders here say that investing overseas is not about giving up Taiwan's tech advantage,

03:11but rather expanding the country's global importance and even to explore sectors beyond chips.

03:18All to say that despite newly inaugurated President Donald Trump's agenda of America First,

03:24Taiwan can still work with the U.S. in a way that brings win-win results.

03:30Joseph Wu, Andy Xue and Joyce Zeng in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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