In Taiwan, President Lai Ching-te held a meeting with technology executives to address the implications of the new U.S. tariffs. The President assured plans to uphold Taiwan's competitiveness on the global stage and protect the island's interests. President Donald Trump imposed import tariffs, affecting Taiwan due to its significant trade surplus with the U.S. and a high duty rate of 32% on its goods. Notably, the U.S. tariffs do not cover semiconductors, one of Taiwan's key exports.

During the meeting at the official residence, which included representatives from the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, discussions revolved around responding to the tariff policy's economic and trade challenges. President Lai aims to provide strong support to industries, stabilize the economy, maintain Taiwan's global competitiveness, and safeguard national interests and economic growth.

Taiwan hosts TSMC, the world's leading contract chipmaker serving prominent companies like Apple and Nvidia. While TSMC's participation in the meeting remains uncertain as they are in a quiet period before announcing their first-quarter earnings, the government has announced financial assistance worth T$88 billion ($2.67 billion) to support businesses affected by the U.S. tariffs. Taiwan rejects the tariffs as unreasonable and plans to engage in discussions with the U.S. without retaliation.