TAIPEI, April 11, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Taiwan was in the first group for trade negotiations with the United States, the island's President Lai Ching-te said Friday, as he seeks to shield its exporters from a 32 percent tariff.

US President Donald Trump earlier this week postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of dollars were wiped off global markets.

He has maintained a 10 percent blanket duty on most countries, but paused plans for steeper measures on others, except China.

"We want everyone to know that Taiwan is on the first negotiating list of the US government," Lai told a gathering of machinery and equipment manufacturers.

"The government will be well prepared to negotiate with the United States to ensure our national interests and protect the future development of the industry."

Lai said Taiwan had received a "positive response" to the "countermeasures and plans" it had sent to Washington.

Taiwan currently faces a 10 percent tariff and its negotiators would seek to strike a deal with Washington to bring that down to zero, Lai said.

Negotiators would also discuss boosting procurement and investment in the United States and eliminating non-tariff and other trade barriers.

Lai said Taiwan also needed to tackle "origin laundering", which refers to when companies misrepresent the location of where their product was made to avoid trade penalties.

Taiwan's trade surplus with the United States is the seventh highest of any country, reaching US$73.9 billion in 2024.

Around 60 percent of its exports to the United States are information and communications technology products, including semiconductors. 

Chips were excluded from Trump's new tariffs.

Many in Taiwan were stunned by the size of the duty, after chipmaking titan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's plan to invest an additional US$100 billion in the United States raised hopes the island would be spared.