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Taiwan faces 32% tariff from United States

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Semiconductors, a major Taiwan export, not yet included

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Taiwan to discuss tariffs with United States

TAIPEI, April 4 (Reuters) - Taiwan's government

announced T$88 billion ($2.67 billion) worth of financial help

on Friday for companies and industries to deal with the impact

of U.S. tariffs.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced

across-the-board import tariffs, with much higher duties for

dozens of trading partners including Taiwan, which runs a large

trade surplus with the United States and is facing a 32% duty on

its products.

The U.S. tariffs, however, do not apply to semiconductors, a

major Taiwanese export.

Speaking at a news conference in Taipei, Premier Cho

Jung-tai reiterated that the government regarded the tariffs as

unreasonable, saying it would provide T$88 billion to help

companies affected, with the electronics and steel sectors among

those worst impacted.

"The government's responsibility is to continue to manage

and control the risk and understand the needs of industry," he

said.

Cho added that he had asked Taiwan's Office of Trade

Negotiations to talk to the United States to try and lessen the

impact of the tariffs.

Finance Minister Chuang Tsui-yun, speaking next to Cho, said

the government would also provide an interest rate reduction on

loans for exporters worth T$200 billion.

The announcements were made before financial markets

re-open in Taiwan on Monday, having been closed on Thursday and

Friday for a holiday.

Taiwan, for whom the United States is the island's most

important international backer in the face of mounting Chinese

pressure over Beijing's sovereignty claims, has not announced

any retaliatory tariffs.

Taiwanese government officials have repeatedly said trade

with the U.S. has been skewed by strong demand for Taiwanese

technology products, such as advanced semiconductors - a sector

dominated by the island, home to the world's largest contract

chipmaker TSMC.

TSMC, which is a key manufacturing partner to U.S. companies

Nvidia ( NVDA ), Apple ( AAPL ) and Qualcomm ( QCOM ), last

month announced a new $100 billion investment in the United

States.

($1 = 32.9730 Taiwan dollars)

($1 = 32.9990 Taiwan dollars)