FILE PHOTO: Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te speaks at the Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award in Taipei, Taiwan December 10, 2024. REUTERS/Ann Wang//File Photo
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan President Lai Ching-te will hold a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday to discuss possible new U.S. tariffs as well as broader relations with the United States, two sources familiar with matter told Reuters.
The presidential office declined to comment, but said it would hold a news conference at 1130 am (0330GMT) after a meeting of senior security officials. The council is made of senior ministers and other officials and is convened to discuss only the most important issues tied to national security.
U.S. President Donald Trump tasked his economics team on Thursday with devising plans for reciprocal tariffs on every country taxing U.S. imports, ramping up prospects for a global trade war with American friends and foes.
Trump has threatened specifically to put tariffs on imported semiconductors, which could threaten Taiwan's economy given the island's major role in producing chips used in everything from cars to AI servers.
Trump spoke critically about Taiwan on Thursday, telling reporters at the White House he aimed to restore U.S. manufacturing of semiconductor chips.
"We have to have chips made in this country. Right now, everything's made in Taiwan practically, almost all of it. A little bit in South Korea," he said.
Trump said U.S. companies had made semiconductors before moving overseas.
"Taiwan took our chip business away," he said. "We had Intel. We have these great companies that did so well and it was taken from us. And we want that business back. We want it back in the United States. And if they don't bring it back, we're not going to be very happy."
Taiwan is home to the world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, a major supplier to companies including Apple and Nvidia.
Taiwan also runs a large trade surplus with the United States, which surged 83% last year, with the island's exports to the U.S. hitting a record $111.4 billion, driven by demand for high-tech products such as semiconductors.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in Washington; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Gerry Doyle)
