Moving 40 percent of Taiwan's semiconductor production capacity to the US would be “impossible”. This was stated by Taiwan's Deputy Prime Minister and chief negotiator on US tariffs, Cheng Li-chun, in an interview with local television station CTS, reported Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
The self-governing democratic island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of China's territory, is a leader in the production of semiconductors - key components whose production the White House insists should be moved to the United States.
Under an agreement signed last month, US tariffs on imports of Taiwanese goods will be reduced from 20 to 15 percent in exchange for increased Taiwanese investment in the United States.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced in January that Washington wants to transfer up to 40 percent of the semiconductor supply and production chain from Taiwan to the United States, warning that tariffs could increase significantly if this does not happen.
In September, he told American media that Taiwan's chip production will be divided equally with Washington.
However, according to Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun, such a share of Taiwan's chip production cannot be moved to the United States.
“Whether it is 40 or 50 percent of the production capacity to be transferred to the United States (…), I have made it very clear to the American side that this is impossible“, she said.
Cheng Li-chun added that Taiwan's semiconductor industry ecosystem is like an “iceberg“, with most of it hidden below the surface.
“An industrial ecosystem built over several decades cannot be moved“, the vice premier and chief negotiator summed up.