Taiwan 'working around the clock' to strike US tariff deal
Donald Trump has given his trade partners until August 1 to reach an agreement with the White House or be hit with his threatened levies.
The US president has so far only announced deals with Indonesia, Britain and Vietnam, alongside an agreement to temporarily lower tit-for-tat tolls with China.
Taiwan faces a 32 percent tax and possible duties on semiconductor chips, which are a key driver of the island's economy.
"Our negotiators are literally working around the clock to strive to reach an agreement on reciprocal tariffs," Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim told journalists in Taipei.
"We are certainly aiming to reach an arrangement by August 1."
Trump in April imposed a 10 percent tariff on almost all US trading partners, while announcing plans to eventually hike this level for dozens of countries.
But days before the steeper duties were due to take effect on July 9, he pushed the deadline back to August 1.
Hsiao said Friday that Taipei wanted a trade deal with Washington that "will benefit both sides".
"The United States is indeed a very important trade partner for Taiwan," Hsiao said.
Washington also "needs Taiwan in supporting resilient supply chains, in supporting manufacturing and some high-end technologies".
"We have really counted on each other in recent years in developing our technologies, our economies and growth and prosperity," Hsiao said.
Taiwan is a global powerhouse in chip manufacturing and Trump has previously accused the island of stealing the US semiconductor industry.
Around 60 percent of Taiwan's exports to the United States are information and communications technology, which includes chips.
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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading However, the DA revealed that the US government denied Jonas a diplomatic visa in May and informed the Presidency that he would not be recognised as South Africa's official interlocutor. Jonas and Rasool are both seen as Trump's adversaries after they criticised him on two different occasions. In mid-March 2025, the Trump administration expelled Rasool as South Africa's ambassador to the US, following his critical comments about the US government during a webinar. Rasool had characterised the "Make America Great Again" movement as partly a reaction to "a supremacist instinct" and anticipated demographic changes in the US, specifically the projected decline of the white population to minority status. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly denounced Rasool as a "race-baiting politician who hates America" and declared him persona non grata. In 2020, Jonas referred to Trump as "a racist, homophobic, and narcissistic right-winger", which resurfaced following his appointment as Special Envoy to the US. This exclusion of the two officials coincided with escalating tensions between the US and South Africa, fuelled by the US disapproval of South Africa's legal proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice and the US freezing aid to South Africa. GOOD Party secretary-general Brett Herron emphasised the need for Ramaphosa to take the nation into his confidence and update citizens on the Washington strategy. "Ramaphosa must update the nation on Washington strategy. President Cyril Ramaphosa owes the nation an update on progress... with the nation's diplomatic relationship with the US," Herron said. Another GNU partner, the IFP, during a media briefing on Monday, also urged Ramaphosa to appoint an ambassador as a priority. 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