Top Taiwanese officials yesterday moved to ease concern about the potential fallout of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, making a case that the technology restrictions promised by the former US president against China would outweigh the risks to the island.
The prospect of Trump’s victory in this week’s election is a worry for Taipei given the Republican nominee in the past cast doubt over the US commitment to defend it from Beijing. But other policies championed by Trump toward China hold some appeal for Taiwan.
National Development Council Minister Paul Liu described the proposed technology curbs as potentially having “more pros than cons” for Taiwan. Such restrictions are likely to prompt more Taiwanese companies to shift production back from China and redirect export orders to local manufacturers, he said.
When asked by a lawmaker yesterday about Taiwan’s preparations for the US election results, Liu said that while the island might also face a 10 percent tariff on its goods, “the impact would be limited, as most suppliers in Taiwan are primarily doing contract manufacturing serving the US clients.”
A Trump victory could make a bigger difference for Taiwan than a win by US Vice President Kamala Harris, according to Liu, though he said Taiwan is prepared for various outcomes.
Responding to lawmaker questioning, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo said he expected Harris would likely continue the Democratic Party’s policies on Taiwan.
Kuo acknowledged that Trump could introduce measures that might prove harmful for Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. But Taiwan “will have strategies in place to respond, and the impact will not be as severe as some anticipate,” he said.
China claims the self-governing democracy is its territory, and has threatened to seize the island by force if needed. US President Joe Biden has repeatedly vowed to defend Taiwan in the event of an “unprecedented attack.”
In an interview with CBS News’s “60 Minutes,” Harris hewed closer to the traditional US policy of “strategic ambiguity” while saying it’s important to help Taiwan defend itself.
Trump has been less supportive, telling Bloomberg Businessweek earlier this year that Taiwan stole the US’s chip business. He also called for the island to pay more for defense and noted the challenges of defending it from Beijing. “Taiwan is 9,500 miles away,” Trump said. “It’s 68 miles away from China.”
In a subsequent interview with Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait last month, Trump didn’t answer directly when asked if American troops would defend Taiwan if China invaded.–BLOOMBERG
