Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) of Taiwan's Executive Yuan. Yonhap News. 

The United States has reportedly requested that Taiwan invest $400 billion (approximately 588 trillion won), an amount greater than South Korea's commitment, in trade negotiations with Taiwan.

Taiwanese media outlets, including China Times and Liberty Times, reported on the matter on the 24th, citing the British daily Financial Times (FT).

Sources indicate that the U.S. requested substantial investment from Taiwan ahead of the finalization of ongoing tariff negotiations.

These sources explained that the U.S. requested an investment of $400 billion, an intermediate figure between the commitments made by South Korea ($350 billion, approximately 515 trillion won) and Japan ($550 billion, approximately 809 trillion won).

It was also added that the $400 billion requested by the U.S. includes Taiwan's TSMC's investment of $165 billion (approximately 242 trillion won) in the U.S.

In response, the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) of Taiwan's Executive Yuan stated that the negotiation team is continuously discussing supply chain cooperation with the U.S. as a "Taiwanese model" through methods such as video conferences and exchange of written documents.

They also emphasized their efforts to achieve mutual tariff reductions and ensure that taxes on items related to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act receive Most Favored Nation (MFN) treatment.

Wu Cheng-wen, Minister of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of Taiwan, emphasized in a recent media interview that Taiwan and the U.S. have reached a consensus on linking support for the U.S. semiconductor industry's development with tariff reductions.

Minister Wu also added that during the trade negotiations, Taiwan proposed to the U.S. sharing its experience in building science parks, which are key to the success of the semiconductor industry.

Previously, when U.S. President Trump decided to impose a 20% tariff on Taiwan, for whom a trade agreement had not yet been finalized, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te stated that the 20% tariff was a "provisional rate" set at the final stage of negotiations in August, not Taiwan's goal, and expressed expectations for a lower rate in the final agreement.

Yonhap News