"The negotiation is still underway," Taiwan's Minister as US tariff deadline looms

Taipei [Taiwan], July 8 (ANI): Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs, Kuo Jyh-huei, on Monday said the negotiations on the tariff between the United States and Taiwan are still going on, reports Focus Taiwan.

According to Focus Taiwan, the minister told reporters at the Legislative Yuan that "The negotiation is still underway" after being asked whether he was optimistic about the trade negotiations.

The U.S has earlier announced provisional 32-per-cent tariffs on Taiwanese goods, which could take effect in less than a month if tariff negotiations fail.

In April, U.S. President Donald Trump paused the measure for 90 days and introduced a 10 per cent baseline duty instead. This decision came after Trump announced sweeping import duties on trading partners.

"The negotiating window until July 9 has led to announced deals only with the United Kingdom and Vietnam," as reported by The Associated Press.

However, on Monday, U.S President slaps hiked tariffs of 25 per cent and more on 14 nations to take effect from August 1, 2025.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an interview with CNN, answered, "I'm not going to give away the playbook because we're going to be very busy over the next 72 hours," when he was asked about what would happen on Wednesday.

"President Trump's going to be sending a letter to some of our trading partners saying that if you don't move things along, then on Aug. 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level," Bessent said. Adding, "So, I think we're going to see a lot of deals quickly."

Additionally, the Government of Taiwan's "closed-door negotiations" strategy was openly criticised by the Taiwan Labour Action Coalition in Response to the Tariff Impact.

Lawmaker Szu-yao of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party urged against speculation ahead of the tariff talks deadline. He further added that the government will protect Taiwanese people's rights.

During a press conference in Taipei, the group criticised the government for its refusal to genuinely communicate or discuss matters with labour organisations throughout the negotiation process. (ANI)