Taiwan foreign minister to visit Texas to boost trade ties
TAIPEI, May 6 (Reuters) - Taiwan's foreign minister will visit the U.S. state of Texas to speak at a forum on artificial intelligence (AI) and promote business and trade ties, his office said on Tuesday, as Taipei seeks to bolster investment and see off the threat of tariffs.
Goods from tech powerhouse Taiwan had been due to face U.S. import tariffs of 32% until U.S. President Donald Trump paused the plan last month for 90 days.
Taiwan has since begun tariff talks with the United States, and promised to purchase more U.S. goods and invest more in the country as a way to seek more balanced trade.
Taiwan's foreign ministry said that its minister, Lin Chia-lung, would speak at a Taiwan-Texas AI summit in the state on Friday, and be accompanied by an industry delegation, including from the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association.
The ministry said the main purpose of the trip was to promote Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's roadmap to deepen Taiwan-U.S. ties and facilitate Taiwanese investment in the country.
The ministry said it looked forward to Lin's visit to Texas with the delegation to "deepen our mutually beneficial partnership with the United States and Texas in a number of economic and trade areas".
Last month, Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturer Inventec (2356.TW), opens new tab agreed to invest up to $85 million to build manufacturing facilities in Texas.
Chinese-claimed Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic ties with the United States, but the country is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier.
Despite the lack of formal relations, Taiwanese foreign ministers and other senior officials do on occasion visit the United States.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
Oil prices hold gains ahead of US-China trade talks
BEIJING, June 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices held on to last week's gains early on Monday as investors waited for U.S.-China trade talks to be held in London later in the day. Brent crude futures were flat at $66.47 a barrel at 0008 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading up 1 cent at $64.59. The prospect of a U.S.-China trade deal supported prices as three of Donald Trump's top aides were set to meet with counterparts in London on Monday for the first meeting of the U.S.-China economic and trade consultation mechanism. The announcement on Saturday followed a rare Thursday call between the two countries' top leaders, with both under pressure to dial down tensions as China's export controls on rare earths disrupt global supply chains. Oil prices posted their first weekly gain in three weeks on the news. A U.S. jobs report showing unemployment held steady in May appeared to increase the odds of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut, further supporting last week's gains. Inflation data from China on Monday morning will give a reading of domestic demand in the world's largest crude importer. The economic data and the prospect of a trade deal that could support economic growth and increase demand for oil outweighed worries about increased OPEC+ supply after the group announced another big output hike for July on May 31. HSBC expects OPEC+ to accelerate supply hikes in August and September, which are likely to raise downside risks to the bank's $65 per barrel Brent forecast from the fourth quarter of 2025, according to a research note on Friday. Capital Economics researchers said they believe this "new faster pace of (OPEC+) production rises is here to stay".
Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump's bravado has totally backfired. China has the President right where it wants him - for one devastating reason: DOMINIC LAWSON
'Ladies and gentlemen, Britain is back on the world stage.' This, preposterously, was how Sir Keir Starmer addressed European leaders at an event in London to mark his dismal deal with Brussels last month. But today our capital really will be the stage on which global attention is focused: representatives of the governments of China and the US – including Donald Trump 's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – have flown in for negotiations designed to defuse the trade war between the world's two mightiest economic powers.
North Wales Chronicle
39 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
‘Significant challenges' in use of AI within UK screen sector
Other issues highlighted by the British Film Institute (BFI) report include the safeguarding of human creative control, the fear of jobs being lost as positions are replaced through the use of AI, and investment in training in new skills. High energy consumption and carbon emissions, and the risks to creative content around biased data, are also described as being of concern. The report, which has been carried out in partnership with CoSTAR universities Goldsmiths, Loughborough and Edinburgh, analyses how the screen sector is using and experimenting with rapidly evolving generative AI technologies. It warned that the 'primary issue' was the use of copyrighted material – such as hundreds of thousands of film and TV scripts – in the training of generative AI models, without payment or the permission of rights-holders. 'This practice threatens the fundamental economics of the screen sector if it devalues intellectual property creation and squeezes out original creators,' the report said. But it added that the UK's strong foundation in creative technology – as it is home to more than 13,000 creative technology companies – means that the UK screen sector is well positioned to adapt to the technological shift. The report – titled AI in the Screen Sector: Perspectives and Paths Forward – said generative AI promises to democratise and revolutionise the industry, with the BBC, for example, piloting AI initiatives. Meanwhile, projects such as the Charismatic consortium, which is backed by Channel 4 and Aardman Animations, aim to make AI tools accessible to creators regardless of their budget or experience. It said this could empower a new wave of British creators to produce high-quality content with modest resources, though concerns about copyright and ethical use remain significant barriers to full adoption. The report sets out nine key recommendations it suggests should be addressed within the next three years to enable the UK screen sector to thrive in using AI. These include establishing the UK as a world-leading market of IP licensing for AI training, and embedding sustainability standards to reduce AI's carbon footprint. It also calls for structures and interventions to pool knowledge, develop workforce skills and target investments in the UK's creative technology sector, while it urges support for independent creators through accessible tools, funding and ethical AI products. The BFI's director of research and innovation, Rishi Coupland, said: 'AI has long been an established part of the screen sector's creative toolkit, most recently seen in the post-production of the Oscar-winning The Brutalist, and its rapid advancement is attracting multimillion investments in technology innovator applications. 'However, our report comes at a critical time and shows how generative AI presents an inflection point for the sector and, as a sector, we need to act quickly on a number of key strategic fronts. 'Whilst it offers significant opportunities for the screen sector such as speeding up production workflows, democratising content creation and empowering new voices, it could also erode traditional business models, displace skilled workers, and undermine public trust in screen content. 'The report's recommendations provide a roadmap to how we can ensure that the UK's world-leading film, TV, video games and VFX industries continue to thrive by making best use of AI technologies to bring their creativity, innovations and storytelling to screens around the globe.' Professor Jonny Freeman, director of CoSTAR Foresight Lab, said: 'This latest CoSTAR Foresight Lab report, prepared by the BFI, navigates the complex landscape of AI in the screen sector by carefully weighing both its transformative opportunities and the significant challenges it presents. 'The report acknowledges that while AI offers powerful tools to enhance creativity, efficiency, and competitiveness across every stage of the production workflow – from script development and pre-production planning, through on-set production, to post-production and distribution – it also raises urgent questions around skills, workforce adaptation, ethics, and sector sustainability.' CoSTAR is a £75.6 million national network of laboratories that are developing new technology to maintain the UK's world-leading position in gaming, TV, film, performance, and digital entertainment. Last month stars including Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ian McKellen, wrote a joint letter to Sir Keir Starmer, urging the Prime Minister to introduce safeguards against work being plundered for free.
