(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan is continuing its efforts to secure a trade deal with the US, a top official said, even after a court blocked many of the tariffs that President Donald Trump has threatened to impose on other countries.
While the court ruling may prompt some countries to adopt a “wait and see” approach, Taiwan remains committed to negotiations, Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi said in an interview Thursday.
“We are glad to see that there are some debates among different branches of government in the US,” he said. “That will make everything more reasonable and more acceptable.”
He added that “we are serious about our negotiations and we are serious to have a fair trade with the United States.”
Trump’s use of tariff threats to pressure other countries into cutting new trade deals was thrown into turmoil after a court said the US president exceeded his authority, significantly weakening his bargaining power at least temporarily.
While the White House has said it will appeal the ruling, the decision could delay negotiations with other trading partners that began after Trump announced a 90-day pause on the steep “reciprocal” tariffs that were rolled out in early April. If left intact, the US would impose a 32% levy on imports from Taiwan.
Chen said he remains confident that his government will reach a deal before the US pause is set to lift and will push for the US to drop Taiwan’s tariffs “as low as possible.” He added that as a strong American ally, Taiwan should push for lower rates than those on others.
“We want to be the special someone,” Chen said, adding that if other countries finalize the tariff at 10%, “being special means lower than 10%.”
--With assistance from Joanne Wong, Nikita Koirala and Lauren Faith Lau.